Restorative Justice in the Prison Setting - 5289 Words

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE PRISON SETTING Dr Andrew Coyle International Centre for Prison Studies King’s College University of London United Kingdom A Paper presented at the conference of the International Prison Chaplains Association (Europe) Driebergen The Netherlands 13 May 2001 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE PRISON SETTING Dr Andrew Coyle International Centre for Prison Studies King’s College University of London United Kingdom A Personal Context I would like to begin by thanking you warmly for inviting me to join you today. I have watched with great interest and admiration the growth of the International Prison†¦show more content†¦I saw prison officers exercising great professional care and understanding in their dealings with fractious mentally disturbed men. I saw prisoners who, when given the opportunity, were only too willing to help the old, the young, the infirm, people who were worse off than even they were[i]. All of these experiences left me with the question, What is this thing we call the prison? I found myself re-echoing the words which Vaclav Havel, now President of the Czech Republic, wrote to his wife, Olga, when he was a prisoner: I never feel sorry for myself, as one might expect, but only for the other prisoners and altogether, for the fact that prisons must exist and that they are as they are, and that mankind has not so far invented a better way of coming to terms with certain things[ii]. The Reality of Imprisonment These experiences left me with another question, What is the future of the prison? At the beginning of a new millennium we have the opportunity, as with so many other elements in our society, to ask why things are as they are, and whether there is perhaps another and better way of dealing with things. It is worth reminding ourselves at the outset that the prison is a relatively modern concept, having been with us in its present form forShow MoreRelatedThe Justice And Restorative Justice1621 Words   |  7 Pagesproviding rationale for restorative justice (337). Crimes committed by young individuals are often minor, first-time acts which can be mediated and addressed through the proactive administration of restorative rehabilitation, which often prevents recidivism. Restorative justice is a process where all parties involved in a particular offense come together in order to collectively resolve the aftermath and future implications of the specific crime (Roche 343). Restorative justi ce is the the ideal responseRead MoreThe Justification For Imprisonment781 Words   |  4 Pagesthat have been committed. Most of these methods have had severe pitfalls in the effort to reduce prison populations, ranging from corporal punishment, deterrence and incapacitation, restorative justice, rehabilitation and reform, to reintegration methods. In my mind, the most cost efficient and effective punishment for crimes that are not considered serious violent crimes would be the restorative justice, the rehabilitation and reform method, and teaching offenders affective reintegration skills. Read MoreProbation : Probation And Parole1544 Words   |  7 PagesProbation and Parole Probation and parole their role in the criminal justice program. How well does society accept this program and the people? Is probation/parole effective and why. How the probation and parole system is governed and how effective is it? Probation v s Parole differs in regard to the period during which an offender is placed under supervision. Is probation effective and why. When an individual is supervised as an alternative to imprisonment, it is known as probation. The probationRead MoreProbation Parole : Probation And Parole1541 Words   |  7 PagesProbation and Parole Probation and parole their role in the criminal justice program. How well does society accept this program and the people? Is probation/parole effective and why. How the probation and parole system is governed and how effective is it? Probation vs Parole differ in regard to the period during which an offender is placed under supervision. Is probation effective and why. When an individual is supervised as an alternative to imprisonment it is known as probation. The probationRead MoreUtilitarian Vs. Utilitarian Theory1560 Words   |  7 PagesUtilitarian Supporters of the utilitarian justice model believe that the sentence of an offender should be based on what is good for society whether that is imprisonment, rehabilitation, or to serve as deterrence. This is a â€Å"forward looking† model unlike the retributive justice model. The punishment in this model has to be larger than the advantages of committing this crime (Banks, 2013). The utilitarian model seeks to prevent the crime from occurring by becoming a deterrent effect. ProceduralRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System Is Not Driven By Welfare And Justice2175 Words   |  9 Pagesorder to maintain a fair and just society. Therefore, it is the juvenile justice system’s responsibility to establish institutions and legislation to protect the important role that young people play in society. The system should also be driven by welfare and justice concerns as young people have special needs in regards to their age, and their physical, emotional and social development. It is essential that these welfare and justice concerns are addressed effectively by the system in order for youngRead MoreThe Education System Has Long Rested On Zero Tolerance Policies3101 Words   |  13 Pagessociety or the education system. Much like the prison system, the public school justice system has long rested on zero tolerance policies (Zehr, 2015). These zero tolerance policies rest on the ideology that by providing swift and harsh punishment to the offender, future vio lations of social and educational institution rules will be deterred (Vaandering, 2010). And while this methodology may work, it also furthers the reality of a â€Å"school-to-prison† pipeline in modern culture. Rather than relyRead MoreLiterature Review Retributive Justice: The Case of Justin Wolfe1838 Words   |  7 Pagesdeath penalty and the underlying cause of a crime. There is no single model of justice that can adequately handle the complexities of the Commonwealth v. Wolfe, where there exists no imbalance of power between criminal justice officials, victims and offenders and imprisonment provides offenders with skills likely to reduce recidivism. Literature Review Retributive Justice Moore (1993) indicates that retributive justice is based on just deserts. Society punishes offenders because offenders deserveRead MoreJuvenile Justice Systems833 Words   |  4 Pageswith crime, and in particular juvenile delinquency, in this piece there will be an in depth analysis of the United States juvenile justice system and England’s juvenile justice system. Although there are many similarities between both developed countries England’s approach to juvenile justice is more effective long term by its implementation of rehabilitative and restorative programs. In return tackling the problem of high recidivism rates and reintegration into society. Mental Health Issues in JuvenilesRead MoreEssay on Circle Sentencing as Alternative Dispute Resolutions1235 Words   |  5 PagesResolutions While the restorative justice movement has risen in recent years, the idea of circle sentencing, or peacemaking circles has been practiced in indigenous cultures for quite some time. As we look at implementing traditional indigenous culture practices as alternative dispute resolutions, we need to realize the effectiveness and also whether we are ready to use them. The Yukon and other communities reintroduced circles in 1991 as a practice of the restorative justice movement (Bazemore,

The Nature of Love - 2443 Words

â€Å"Harry couldn’t help it, he was in love†. What does such a statement imply about the nature of love? Write an essay which argues your particular view on the nature of love and the object of that love. Limit your answer to the notion of romantic love and use Robert Ehman as a starting point. Everybody seems to believe that love is a good thing. However, not all agree on what love is. Is love that warm fuzzy feeling a person has when they are with a familiar person? According to the Bible, love is caring in action. Love is not what we feel, but what we do; however the object of love is not defined. (Bible Gateway, 2012) In this discussion I will describe what the nature of love is based on the idea of love as a verb, as something one†¦show more content†¦If lust is confused as feelings of love in one individual this begins to draw upon the consequences where a lover may be hurt causing emotional pain. For this reason I agree with Ehman that love demands both individuals to experience the same levels of emotional connections to define ‘true love.’ Harry may drive way his lover through romantic acts of what he believes to show love (kissing etc) which may mean different things to his lover if she is not sharing the connection of true love with him. In relation to Ehman’s view of romantic love Hatfield and Rapson, (1987) also distinguished there are different types of love, known as romantic and affectionate love. Romantic love is passionate and involves strong feelings of longing, desire and excitement towards a special person. (Baumeister amp; Bushman, 2008) The emotional values of romantic love make people want to spend as much time together as possible. Romantic lovers tend to want to touch each other and engage in intimate activities such as sex to show how they do love. ‘Doing love’ from a passionate and romanticised angle could involve thoughts of not being able to control emotional feelings. For example always thinking about a lover is a common way of ‘doing love.’Show MoreRelatedLove : The Nature Of Love1912 Words   |  8 PagesThe Nature of Love in Till We Have Faces The concept of love is a varying, odd and often fleeting thing. It is one of the single things in this world that almost every person might have a different definition for. People have even created different languages in which to give and receive love so we might understand and better love one another, to which everyone s is different. Over time the definition of love has changed - yes it may always have stayed the same in the dictionary, but the perceptionRead MoreThe Nature of Love2430 Words   |  10 Pageswas in love†. What does such a statement imply about the nature of love? Write an essay which argues your particular view on the nature of love and the object of that love. Limit your answer to the notion of romantic love and use Robert Ehman as a starting point. Everybody seems to believe that love is a good thing. However, not all agree on what love is. Is love that warm fuzzy feeling a person has when they are with a familiar person? According to the Bible, love is caring in action. Love is notRead MoreThe True Nature Of Love1338 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is Love? â€Å"Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.† According to Hawthorne, the true nature of love should not flow from a place of contrived affection. Although Hawthorne’s notion of romantic love is rather idealistic, it starkly contrasts the way â€Å"love† functioned in Puritan society. Many young women at that time were quick to jump into marriages devoid ofRead MoreThe Subjective Nature Of Love999 Words   |  4 Pagessubjective, then anything that I believe is beautiful is indeed beautiful. This implies that there is no standard definition of the word â€Å"beauty.† Its definition is tied to my attitude. Using the subjective nature of love leads us to a judgment of taste, which has no logic. The subjective nature of love depends on one’s taste and feeling about beauty. For instance, our judgment about a rose flower or early morning sunshine could be different because of the subjective definition of beauty. It is also importantRead MoreThe Truth and Nature of Love in Shakespeare in Love1225 Words   |  5 Pages John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love is a ‘romantic comedy’ set in the class-dominated society of Elizabethan England. The two protagonists and â€Å"Star-crossed lovers† of the film come from completely different ends of the class spectrum. Will Shakespeare is a â€Å"lowly player† with writer’s block searching for his muse and wealthy Viola De Lesseps who dreams of â€Å"love as there has never been in a play† are fortune’s fools as the viewer must come to realise that love cannot conquer all. Madden conveysRead MoreThe Connection Between Nature And Love1066 Words   |  5 PagesxWorld renounced artist, Vincent Van Gough once said, â€Å"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere†. Often people associate nature with just being the outdoors, plants, and animals, but it also can be more than that, such as human nature. In other words, the art and desires of humans and what is considered â€Å"natural†. This connection of human nature is depicted through the desires and human love shown in the Egyptian love poems. Poems such as â€Å"Sister Without Peer†, â€Å"My Brother TormentsRead MoreThe Nature Of Love By Harry Harlow1619 Words   |  7 Pages Harry Harlow was labeled as a man with a desire for learning about what he presumed love to be and consequently, dedicated his later career to the subject. Life presented him with ups and downs yet, he pursued his research with a vigor. He developed notions about the concepts of affection in contrast to bodily needs and what could possibly derive from one not receiving love. This guided him to establish observational research methods to study his ideas via the use of infant primates which, yieldedRead MorePlatos Symposium : The Nature Of Love1592 Words   |  7 Pages Plato’s Symposium describes the nature of love to be the driving force towards immortality. Aristophanes perpetuates this idea through his allegorical d escription of human’s original nature, and the component of the driving force of love within that nature. The underlying goal of this force of love is immortality, though he does not directly articulate it in his speech. It is with the emergence of Socrates’ ideas that we are equipped with sufficient evidence reinforcing Aristophanes’ story to beRead MoreComparing The Theaetetus And The Nature Of Love1602 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many connections between the nature of knowledge in the Theaetetus and the nature of love in the Symposium. The concept of philosophy brings together the nature of knowledge and love. Notably, Diotima calls Love a lover of wisdom which in Greek means literally a philosopher (Benjamin Jowett, trans. Plato, Symposium and Phaedrus 27). Philia means, love and sophia means wisdom. The main topic of Plato’s Symposium is the question â€Å"what is love†. It is a record of six speeches by differentRead MoreThe Nature Of Love By Roger Hock1338 Words   |  6 PagesLove can be an amazing thing and it is often said that nothing compares to the bond between a mother and her child, yet before a study called â€Å"The nature of love† which is discussed in the book â€Å"Forty studies that changed psychology: Explorations into the history psychological research,† our society had a very different understand about what caused this bond (Hock, 2013). In the book the author Roger Hock explores many different influential studies but in the section called â€Å"Discovering Love,† he

The process of european union integrated border management Free Essays

string(79) " EU framework has resulted in special arrangements for three EU member states\." Introduction 1. The Concept of the Schengen For the establishment of a common market, the abolition of any obstacles on the mobility of people was deemed to be a necessary pre-condition (Carrera, 2005, p. 700). We will write a custom essay sample on The process of european union integrated border management or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to Gogou (2006, p. 2) there are two parallel and competing methods for achieving the free movement of persons: the intergovernmental cooperation and the community approach. Member States introduced informal regular structures for the exchange of information on internal security problems since the mid-1970s (Gogou, 2006, p. 2-3). As a first step, the member states developed the structure of Terrorism, Radicalism, Extremism, and International Violence Group, or TREVI Group. It was set up in 1975 and comprised interior and justice ministers as well as police chiefs (Edwards Meyer, 2008, p. 8). It was initially a forum for exchanging information regarding organised crime and terrorism (Casale, 2008, p. 50). The TREVI Group lasted until 1992, when it was replaced by the provisions of the Maastricht Third Pillar involving immigration and asylum, policing, customs and legal co-operation (Casale, 2008, p. 50). On the other hand, intergovernmental co-operation between EU Member States regarding issues of external border security started in a systematic way in the second half of the 1980s within the Schengen context (Monar, 2006, p. 193). France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands decided to create a territory without internal borders in 1985 (Haider, 2002, p. 473). The purpose of the Schengen Area was to bring people closer together in a Europe without visible internal borders. The aim was to allow for the free movement of people and goods by removing all controls at the common borders of the participating states (Batt, 2003, p. 5-6). The Schengen Agreement increased the freedom of movement of people between countries that have implemented the agreement by abolishing passport controls; in addition, visitors to the Schengen Area require only one visa that is good for all Schengen countries (Bogdanyi Lewis, 2008, p. 1). On the other hand, the EU set up a ‘three-pillar’ system of decision-making under the Maastricht treaty (1992). The first pillar contained the EU’s single market and other policy areas where the European Commission has the right to draft laws (Brady Barysch, 2007, p. 5). The Maastricht Treaty created the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), as the 2nd pillar and the inter-governmental Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), as the 3rd pillar of the EU (Bomberg Peterson Stubb, 2008, p. 2). The third pillar, for JHA, originally covered EU cooperation in four policy areas: policing, criminal justice, immigration and asylum, and border management (Brady Barysch, 2007, p. 5). The actual Schengen Convention was ratified in June 1990 and came into effect in March of 1995, by which time several other states had agreed to the EU framework including Italy, Spain, and Portugal (Michael, 2008, p. 3). The Convention contained more general provisions on police cooperation, extradition, other issues of criminal justice cooperation, on narcotic drugs, firearms and the Schengen Information System (SIS) (Gogou, 2006, p. 3). SIS was established in the Schengen Convention (Title IV). The SIS came into effect in 1995 (Michael, 2008, p. 3). The SIS was developed to enable the authorities designated by each Member State to have access by an automated search procedure to alerts on persons and property for the purpose of border checks and other police and customs checks (Carrera, 2005, p. 7). Member states supply information to the system through national networks (N-SIS) connected to a central system (C-SIS), and this IT system is supplemented by a network known as SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry) (Rowan, 2009, p. 237). In 2001 SIS was expanded into SIS I+ in response to the inclusion of the Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland, and in 2007 SISone4all was put in place to manage the enlargement of the Schengen Area to encompass nine of the countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 (Czech republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) (Parkin, 2009, p. 4). Second generation of the SIS II is currently under development under the responsibility of the European Commission. Its deployment is currently planned in the first quarter of 2013 (Hartmann, 2010, p. 5). Monar (2006, p. 193) points out that Schengen system was based on the idea that common standards, procedures and even certain common instruments such as the SIS. Intergovernmental cooperation had advantages for Member States. They could escape any form of political control by the European Parliament (Gogou, 2006, p. 3-4) and jurisdictional control of the European Court of Justice or other social actors (Rosonow, 2009, p. 141). 2. The Integration of the Schengen Acquis into the European Union Schengen Acquis was transferred into the European Union framework on 1 May 1999 with the Treaty of Amsterdam, the â€Å"Schengen area† was expanded step by step beyond the original five member states (Lavenex, 2009, p. 1). Indeed external borders policies were transferred from the Third Pillar to (First Pillar) Title IV TEC named â€Å"Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to free movement of persons† (TEC Articles 62-69). Therefore, these matters therefore do not belong to national policies and legislation at the individual level (Tanguay Therrien, 2010, p. 4). The Treaty of Lisbon of 2009 significantly amended the provisions of the articles in Title IV TEC, renamed the title to â€Å"Area of Freedom, Security and Justice† and introduced into EU primary law the concept of an â€Å"integrated management system for external borders†. Articles 77-80 TFEU replaced Articles 62-69 TEC as the legal base for any measure dealing with visas and borders (Hartmann, 2010, p. 1). Article 77 (ex Article 62 TEC) provides the absence of any controls on persons, whatever their nationality, when crossing internal borders; carrying out checks on persons and efficient monitoring of the crossing of external borders; and the gradual introduction of an integrated management system for external borders. This development was crucial. According to Gogou (2006, p. 4) the Amsterdam Treaty put an end to the competition between intergovernmental cooperation and community approach for the implementation of the Schengen rules. The integration of the Schengen into the EU framework has resulted in special arrangements for three EU member states. You read "The process of european union integrated border management" in category "Essay examples" The UK and Ireland had specific protocols which allow them to opt out of EU common policies concerning Schengen and the area of freedom security and justice (Duff, 2008, p. 5). The reasons for opt out; that the UK, as an island, has a comparative advantage in the field of border politics. Therefore, the government maintains that based on its geographic location the UK’s immigration control is reduced to certain main ports of entry such as airport, seaports, and the Channel tunnel. Joining Schengen would mean significant changes in UK border politics (Wiener, 1999, p. 446). â€Å"British governments maintains that police-free borders would be tantamount to throwing open the door for international criminals† (BBC, 1997). However, these countries have possibi lity to opt-in at a later stage, adopt and implement certain or all of the Schengen clauses at any time on the basis of an enabling Council Decision (Gogou, 2006, p. 6-7). At the same time, the UK and Ireland participated in the Schengen aspects that are not related to border control, such as the SIS with the exception of alerts relating to third country nationals (Parkin, 2011, p. 4). On the other hand, Denmark is a member of Schengen, but has a special arrangement. The Protocol on the Position of Denmark grants this Member State an opt-out from Title IV TEC which is in substance and procedures very similar to the British and Irish. However, Danish case is obviously more complicated because Denmark is a member of Schengen. Denmark has six months time to decide whether it will implement any Council decision building on the Schengen Acquis into national law (Monar, 1999, p. 12-13). Gogou, (2006, p. 7) claims that the effect of this regime is clearly to bypass the jurisdictional control of the European Court of Justice, and has an impact on community law in the area of the implementation of the Danish decision to opt-in. On the other hand, candidate states were not being offered the opportunity to negotiate similarly flexible arrangements like the UK, Ireland, and Denmark (Grabbe, 2000, p. 503). Poungh (2003, p. 648) stresses that new members have to comply with Schengen Acquis in full before benefiting from the advantages in terms of abolition of internal border controls and free movement of persons (as cited in Rowan, 2009, p. 237). At present, 22 EU Member States and 3 Non-EU states are part of the Schengen Area. Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain implemented the Schengen agreement in 1995. They were followed by Italy and Austria in 1997, Greece in 2000, and Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland in 2001(Norway and Iceland are not in the EU). Nine more EU countries joined in 2007, after the EU’s eastward enlargement in 2004. They are: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Switzerland, which is not in the EU, implemented the agreement in December 2008 (BBC, 2011a). There is no date yet for Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, or for Bulgaria and Romania, which joined in 2007. Bulgaria and Romania have to fulfil a series of requirements. Andorra, and San Marino are not part of Schengen, but they no longer have checks at their borders (BBC, 2011a). Liechtenstein signed a protocol on the accession to the implementation of the Schengen Acquis on 28 February, 2008. The official Schengen incorporation is expected in the second half of 2011 (Liechtenstein, 2011). Schengen Area consists of 25 European countries, covering a population of over 400 million people and an area of 4,312,099 km? with 10,000 km? of land borders, 50,000 km? of sea borders and 1,792 official border-crossing points (Hartmann, 2010, p. 6). 3. Towards Integrated Border Management Member States expressed the political will to reinforce their policy in particular for the management of external borders. The Laeken European Council of 14-15 December 2001already recognised that ‘better management of the Union’s external border controls will help in the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration networks and the traffic in human beings (Hobbing, 2006b, p. 169). The Eurpean Council asked the Council and the European Commission to work out ‘arrangements for co-operation between services responsible for external border control and to examine the conditions in which a mechanism or common services to control external borders could be created’ (Council of the European Union 2001, Conclusion No. 42 of the Laeken Council.). This represented a revolution, a first breakthrough, in EU-history, of Member States’ monopoly in implementing and enforcing EU legislation at the borders. (Hobbing, 2006b, p. 169). Commission called for a more â€Å"coherent strategy† on European border management and identified as a core element of the latter the creation of a European border guard. (Carrera, 2010, p.2). The conclusion of the European Council initiated a discussion on a new topic called ‘integrated border management. (Hobbing, 2006, p.1). On the basis of the Council conclusions and in order to respond to the new challenge of the enlargement, a ‘Catalogue of recommendations for the correct application of the Schengen acquis and best practices for external border controls, removal and readmission’ was elaborated by the Council on February 2002. It is a practical instrument listing a series of measures for the correct implementation of the Schengen rules and dressing up a non exhaustive set of working methods for its optimal application. (Gogou, 2006, p. 11). The Commission built upon the Council’s request and released a communication entitled â€Å"Towards integrated border management of the external borders of the member states of the European Union† on 7 May 2002. (Communication to the Council and the European Parliament, Brussels, 7 May 2002, COM (2002) 233 final, 28p). , this Communication proposed a gradual move towards an ‘integrated management’ of external borders, which would start with a consolidation and codification of common rules and standards for external border controls. (Monar, 2006, p. 195).It would continue, inter alia, with the creation of an ‘External borders practitioners’ common unit’ and various other co-operation mechanisms, leading then to financial burden-sharing mechanisms, and, finally, to a ‘European Corps of Border Guards’. (Monar, 2006, p. 196). In a similar fashion, in June 2002 the Seville European Council on 21–22 June 2002 Council adopted the action plan for the (Carrera, 2010, p. 3). management of the external borders of the member states of the European Union,17 where for the first time it confirmed its political willingness to seriously consider the European Border Guard proposal. (Carrera, 2010, p. 4). In the action plan, the Council also stressed that this common corps would not be destined to replace national services but only to support them. (Carrera, 2010, p. 4). European Border Guard was also presented as a key institutional tool to foster the principle of solidarity and a fair sharing of responsibility between the old and new EU member states. The initiative, however, was received with cold reactions by countries such as Poland and Slovenia, which expressed concern in relation to its potential impact over their national sovereignty and constitutional prerogatives. (Hobbing, 2006, p. 163). On the basis of the 2002 Action Plan significant progress has been made towards the ‘integrated management’ of external borders through enhanced operational cooperation and coordination between national border guard forces, institutionalisation of the cooperation process regarding external borders, and burden-sharing in the domain of external border controls. (Monar, 2006, p. 200). According to Monar (2006, p. 196) there are different possible models for a European Border Guard, which are ultimately based on different political concepts on how far ‘integration’ should go in the area of external border controls. These models can be summarised as follows: (Monar, 2006, p. 196). The first model – which may be called the ‘integrated force model’ – would involve the creation, surely only in a longer-term perspective, of an integrated border guard force under the authority of the Council. It would have a common command structure and common training and equipment standards, financed through the EU budget. It would also be vested with full law enforcement powers at external borders, partially or (eventually) totally replacing national border police forces. (Monar, 2006, p. 196-7). The second model – which may be called the ‘network model’ – would mean the creation of a European Border Guard as a network of national border guard units. According to this model units would continue to exist as separate national forces, but they would be subject to common instructions issued by a Council body and based on common training and equipment standards. Certain parts of the national border guards could be trained and equipped to constitute a contingency reserve (or ‘rapid response force’) consisting of national units able to merge into joint units, and capable of being deployed at particular ‘hot spots’ at external borders upon request and approval by the Council body. (Monar, 2006, p. 197). It appears that the first model would be the most easy and efficient. However, it is believed that would be the most difficult to implement. According to Monar (2006, p.197) there are political obstacle. Most Member States are reluctant to create any supranational body in the law enforcement field, and to confer law enforcement powers within their area on officials from other Member States. Also the new Central and Eastern European Member States got back their full national sovereignty only at the end of the Cold War, most of these new Member States are wary of the creation of further supranational structures at the EU level restricting their sovereignty. The integrated force model would require considerable changes to national legislation, and constitution. An integrated force would need to be created through the merger of national forces, which up to now are marked by major differences in terms of tasks, structures, training and equipment. Integrated border guard force will cause the language problems. The UK House of Lords report (2003) highlighted the â€Å"danger of misunderstanding as a result of languages and other differences†. (Carrera, 2010, p. 5). On the other hand, the second ‘network’ model would clearly be easier to implement. Under the network model (Monar, 2006, p. 198). However, according to Monar (2006, p.198) there are number of specific problems with the network model of a European Border Guard. Under this model, national forces would continue to exist. Therefore the effectiveness of the network would heavily depend on all of these separate forces implementing external border control standards and procedures as uniformly as possible in line with the common guidelines issued by the Council body. Also Member States are most likely to resist any major changes to their national services in charge of border controls, especially if these are perceived to be costly and contrary to well established national traditions. (Monar, 2006, p. 198). However, this model would require a major effort in training, language learning and standardisation of equipment. The Greek Presidency at the European Council in Thessaloniki in June 2003, the Member States agreed, on 16 October 2004, on the establishment of an Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe 2004). (Monar, 2006, p. 204). FRONTEX Agency was set up in order to promote integrated border management. (Jorry, 2007, p.8). The EU acquis on external borders, and its IBM, are now part of the main legal, institutional and financial foundations. Since 2005, Frontex has been in charge of coordinating operational cooperation among the border services of the EU member states.42 (Carrera, 2010, p.8) One year later Frontex’s activities were complemented by the adoption of the Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across the borders (the SBC),43 which offers a more transparent and common set of harmonised rules and procedures for crossing the external borders of the EU.44 This has been accompanied by the adoption of the external borders fund in 2007,45 which has been politically presented as a key component of the principle of solidarity on (Carrera, 2010, p. 8) border controls in an enlarged EU by financing border-crossing infrastructure, equipment and projects as well as the exchange and training of staff. (Carrera, 2010, p. 9). The SBC has also codified a common European understanding of the ways in which border controls should be carried out across the Union, which has had deep repercussions regarding ‘who’ is to be considered a border guard and the kinds of activities and tasks falling under the scope of external border controls in Europe. (Carrera, 2010, p. 9). Conclusion Consequently, IBM rules cannot easily be located within just one framework; they are spread across a number of legal and administrative instruments. They represent a multi-layered compilation of provisions, with only the basic ones found in formal legal texts such as the Treaty on the European Community or the Schengen instruments of 1985-90, while much of the rest has been adopted through informal arrangements, e.g. the Common Manual on external borders adopted by the Schengen Executive Committee (Council of the European Union, 2002a) and the Catalogue of Best Practices drawn up by the Working Party on Schengen Evaluation.17 (Hobbing, 2006, p.165). How to cite The process of european union integrated border management, Essay examples

Cross Cultural Management National Culture Profile

Question: Discuss about theCross Cultural Managementfor National Culture Profile. Answer: Introduction Culture, in simple words, can be defined as the basic morals, ethics, beliefs, religion, cuisines, clothes, etc. that a particular social group follows. Culture can differ from people to people and it has become very important for business organisations to manage the cultural differences as they can prove to be very harmful for the overall productivity and efficiency. In this assignment, we will discuss the cultural preferences in Iran with an objective of starting a new business venture of tourism in the country. We will carefully analyse the cultural profile and identify two risks that the business would face while being operated in Iran. National Culture Profile Iran, also known as Persia and officially known as the Islamic republic of Iran, is located in the Western Asia. The country is a major religion and middle power and has an abundant reserves of fossil fuels (Commisceo-global.com, 2016). Let us now analyse the cultural profile of Iran based on the model suggested by Geert Hofstede. Power distance Iran scores 58 on the power distance index. The intermediate score of Iran on power index implies that the country prefers a hierarchical society. The country accepts differences in power that are given to individuals and is distributed in a hierarchical order. Every person in the society has a place and the distribution of power does not require any kind of justification (Geert-hofstede.com, 2016). Individualism this particular culture dimension deals with the feelings of togetherness or separated. Iran scores 41 on the individualism index, which implies that the country prefers a collectivist society. In Iran, people show a long term commitment to groups, whether the group is a family, a relation or an extended family. The country shows a high degree of loyalty towards the society. Similarly, an unethical offence leads to shame and loss of respect in the society. Masculinity with a score of 43 on the masculinity index, the country depicts a society which is more feminine rather than masculine. In Iran, the quality of life that a person keeps is an indicator of success while standing out from the crowd is not considered to be admirable. In Iran, people have a high preference for equality and quality of their work lives. In Iran, the society believes in working in order to live (Geert-hofstede.com, 2016). Uncertainty avoidance with a score of 59 on the uncertainty avoidance index, Iran shows a highly uncertainty avoiding society. In such a society, there is a high preference to maintain rigid codes and behaviour. The society emotionally requires rules and regulations eve if they dont seem to work in the long run. Precision and punctuality are given a lot importance in the society and security needs are the prime reason for employee motivation (Persians Are Not Arabs, 2016). Long term orientation this particular dimension deals with the preference of the society to e connected with the past and at the same time dealing with the issues or challenges that the future will bring along. The country scores 14 on this cultural dimension and shows a strong normative culture. People in Iran have a preference to establish the absolute truth. Iranian society has a great respect for traditions while the propensity to save for the future is relatively low. The society also has a great focus towards the achievement if quick results (Geert-hofstede.com, 2016). Indulgence this particular cultural dimension defines the extent up to which the society can control its desires and impulses. The country has a score of 40 in this dimension and shows a restraint culture. Further, the society also has a less tendency towards spending leisure time and can easily control their desires. Risk Analysis Risk 1Terrorism One of the biggest risks that haunts business organisations operating in Iran is the terrorism that the country experiences. The United States of America has recognized Iran as the most active state sponsor of terrorism and has been accusing Iran for terrorist activities since 1984. One of the best examples that shows the extent to which terrorism can be damaging in the country is the hostage crisis of 1979. On November 4, 1979, 500 Iranians entered the American embassy in Iran and took 90 employees and victors captive. The Iranians left the non-Americans and held 52 employees for 444 days. The demands put forward by the Iranians was the unblocking of Irans frozen assets in the United States. They also demanded a U.S based Shah of Iran to be arrested and given back to the Iranians. As a result, US had to pay $8 billion in frozen assets in exchange of the hostages. Further, the country has also experienced a number of assassinations in the past. Some noticeable assassinations were that of the Prime ministers Mohammad Javad Bahonar, Shapour Bakhtiar, Amir-Abbas Hoveida, etc. The above mentioned cases clearly show the instability that exists in the country and the extent to which terrorism can damage things. For a tourism venture, it is highly possible that the terrorist activities can have an effect on the tourists that visit the country. Even though Iran is being potentially considered as the best tourist destination for this year, terrorism still poses a great threat to the tourism industry in Iran. Risk 2 Corruption Corruption is defined as the unethical misuse of power bested in a person in order to achieve some personal gains (Corruption-agenda.org, 2016). Particularly in Iran, corruption is the way of life for the people. Only a few people in Iran have openly criticised the existence of corruption in the country also suggesting the social unrest that can be caused by corruption. Recently, a billionaire tycoon based in Iran, Babak Zanjani, has been sentenced to death for corruption. The 41-year-old business tycoon has been accused of fraudulent pocketing of $2.8 billion (The Huffington Post, 2016). The government of the country is large. The presence of the government of the country can be visibly seen in all corners of life. The corrupt behaviour demonstrated by the employees working in the government and public sector can be attributed to the lower pay which they are offered, which also makes it difficult for the employees to meet their own or their familys needs (Middle East Eye, 2016). The existence of corruption in the country is a great risk for any business organisation that wants to expand its operations in Iran. The fact that the venture is being run by an outsider makes the venture even more vulnerable to corruption (Eulerhermes.com, 2016). Mitigation Strategies It is important that the owners of the new business venture should carefully undertake strategies that can help them in overcoming the risks that are posed by corruption and terrorism. The business venture should, first of all, recruit a lot of employees from Iran itself as they would be better aware about the ins and outs of the business. They should be having a thorough knowledge about the ways in which the business can easily take all the permissions that it requires to operate in Iran. Even some of the high positions in the company should be offered to the Iranian employees as they have better understanding of their country and they would make it easier for the company to deal with the risks identified in the above sections. Further, the company should also establish relations with the governmental organisations and offer them high tourism incomes in exchange of security for the delegates or the foreign victors that visits Iran through the company. It should also be ensured that the tourists are adequate insured against natural and man-made disasters while they visit Iran while the business venture should also ensure that the security of the tourists is in the hands of the government of Iran. Recommendations Iran has a stable cultural profile, as discussed in the beginning, which makes the country a potential opportunity for business organisations while the country is also preparing for a tsunami of foreign visitors. Further, the county has also started to lose its visa rules which is making it easier for the tourists to get visa and visit the country. Therefore, the country is one of the best countries that offers tourism opportunities to localities as well as business organisations. Iran is a country that has a lot of potential for being selected as the best tourist destination in the present times but the risks of corruption and terrorism makes it difficult for business organisations to start new business ventures in the country. If business organisations come up with the right approach to deal with terrorism and corruption, Iran can offer a lot of business opportunities to them. Therefore, the business organisations should carefully assess the risks to their ventures and use appropriate strategies that can help them in mitigating the risks that exist in the country. References Commisceo-global.com. (2016).Iran - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette. [online] Available at: https://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/iran-guide [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. Corruption-agenda.org. (2016).What is Corruption?. [online] Available at: https://www.corruption-agenda.org/getting-started/what-is-corruption [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. Eulerhermes.com. (2016).Country risks analysis | Euler Hermes Group. [online] Available at: https://www.eulerhermes.com/economic-research/country-risks/Pages/country-reports-risk-map.aspx [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. Geert-hofstede.com. (2016).Iran - Geert Hofstede. [online] Available at: https://geert-hofstede.com/iran.html [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. Middle East Eye. (2016).Corruption a way of life in Iran. [online] Available at: https://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/corruption-has-become-way-life-iran-1127296548 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. Persians Are Not Arabs. (2016).Persian Culture. [online] Available at: https://www.persiansarenotarabs.com/persian-culture/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016]. The Huffington Post. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/majid-rafizadeh/irans-corruption-and-huma_b_8382140.html [Accessed 29 Oct. 2016].

Yojimbo the Japanese amidst Western World and Archetypes Essay Example

Yojimbo: the Japanese amidst Western World and Archetypes Essay Yojimbo is a 1961 Japanese sword-fight film by Akira Kurosawa, featuring Toshiro Mifune as the nameless protagonist. The plot revolves around a ronin (wandering or master less samurai) who gets into a small town. He finds out that the place is being ruled by two gambling warlords, Seibei and Usitora, and he sees this as an opportunity to make some money. First, he hires himself as a yojimbo or bodyguard to both crime lords, and then proceeds to making the two crime gangs face off in a series of bloody skirmishes. He employed manipulative tricks in order to let the two gangs kill each other to annihilation. In the end, he engages in a very bloody battle between the two crimes syndicates, leaving the town in peace as the two gangs are finally depleted. He, in turn, acquires a good deal of money from his conspiracies.This paper will analyze how the film Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Western standards, and how the film portrays a rather distorted view of the Japanese culture and histo ry, with a leaning towards the Western bias and audience.The film’s formal aspectsSet/CostumeKurosawa made a good job in making his set rather realistic and dramatic. The samurai costumes employed are believable and credible and the cast are not overly costumed. Kurosawa depicted a small, dusty Japanese village, and by historical standards, it is accurate and not romanticized.LightingKurosawa employed many Western lighting techniques, such as the occasional emphasis on movement and details. Generally speaking, the film is lighted by natural, bright light that gives it a rather cool ambience. Night scenes, on the other hand, are not given too much lighting in order to accurately depict the Japanese era during that time.SpaceOne rather obvious aspect that makes the film Western-influenced is its use of the wide-lens shots, emphasizing the diminutive, solitary, but purposely heroic nature of the protagonist. This is a direct salutation to the Western man-with-no-name concept, in which a sole wandering character is depicted as the ‘only heroic soul’ in a desolated or corrupted place that he/she will ‘clean up’ by him/herself (Of course, the main character is often depicted as a man, as in Dashielle Hammett’s Red Harvest and Kurosawa’s Sanjuro).Another noticeable camera effect that was employed was the utilization of slow motion and fast-forward effects. For instance, there was a scene where the protagonist is looking at a tree while being asked for his name. The shot was slow-motioned in order to emphasize the calmness of the mulberry tree. From then on, some of his graceful killing moves are also slow-motioned in order to achieve this same effect and to highlight the point that he is, in fact, the calm and solitary mulberry tree that was shot in earlier sequences.   Creative sequences were also employed, as in the scene wherein the character throws a knife to pin a fluttering leaf to the ground. This seemingly nons ense shot (as it has no direct relation to the plot) abounds throughout the film and its only purpose is to highlight the character of the protagonist in symbolic terms.Another salutation was made to the cowboy-themed (Wild Wild West) films, which gives us a hint how the said concept was transplanted in the Japanese context. The sequence wherein the protagonist faces a group of crime goons in a face-off shot (there is a blank space between the protagonist and his enemies) is very reminiscent of the Marlboro films in the West. The spinning dusts and the sound of the wind complete the scene, making a dramatic effect. Moreover, the group of bandits was also depicted as bloodthirsty, dirty and badly-dressed hoodlums, while the protagonist was depicted as the tough-faced, cool Marlboro guy with the heartless look. This archetypal fight scene is very Western-inspired.Although it was not that prominent all throughout the film, Yojimbo exhibits certain special elements of American film noir . The taverns were the crime lords dwell are depicted as dark and decadent in ambience. Nonetheless, the setting stills appear to be more Japanese than American underground.ActingMifune has done a great job in depicting his cool character, his complex characterization ranging from a melancholic solitary man to a raging but intuitive killing machine. However, Kurosawa appears to have taken his characters into boxed Western roles. For instance, the crime lords and goons in the film appear to be direct rip-offs from the gambling lords in Hammett’s The Glass Key, leaving no room for Japanese characterization. There is also a scene wherein the protagonist was tortured. The dramatic scene is almost taken similarly—shot-by-shot—also in the said Hammet film. The acting of the cast in the film is, therefore, patterned. In this case, Kurosawa had certain shortcoming in credibility and cultural accuracy.The fight scenes in the film are numerous and oftentimes gory. In this case, Kurosawa again employed Western techniques in portraying the gory deaths of the protagonist’s enemies. Moreover, the concept of a protagonist facing an unbelievably large number of enemies without acquiring even a scratch is also a Wild Wild Wild West thing. The goons are also very weak and vulnerable, and most of the time their acting is apparently second-rate, almost as if they are pushing themselves to the blade of the protagonist’s sword. Of course, this is again to highlight the strength and epic heroism of the main character, but in this aspect, the fight scene appears mechanical and very unbelievable.Kurosawa and his Western influenceI have been mentioning for quite some time how the film is apparently inspired by many Western concepts, elements and filmmaking techniques. The possibility of Kurozawa copying certain scenes and influence from Western films such as Hammett’s The Glass Key and Red Harvest was also mentioned.I believe that there is noth ing wrong with the incorporation of these Western techniques into a Japanese setting, as doing so is like denying the progress of technology. However, one consequence that Kurosawa committed in doing so is that he neglected other factors of Japanese culture (and even his own creative identity) in favor of the Western techniques. In order to gain a Western audience or, more likely, to gain Western acceptance, he transplanted certain Western archetypes and elements into a Japanese context, thereby creating a ‘Western film in a Japanese setting’ ,made by a Japanese (Richie 2005 p.132). This claim is, of course, not to condemn Kurosawa’s creativity and contribution to the international film industry but rather to highlight how Western standards are becoming ‘The Standard’. This kind of point of view (viewing Western standards as the prime and superior standard) is detrimental to other films, as it forces the films from other countries to conform to the A merican standards and put their own cultural and creative identity in an inferior position.Hence, although the film Yojimbo claims to depict the dark side of life in Japan during the claimed era, it fails in terms of credibility, primarily because the characters and even the situations it claimed to portray as ripped-off from the Western context, and the Japanese setting is the one that was distorted and situated. (This is of course not to say the crime lords and goons are not present in the said Japanese era. The presence of these kinds of people is historically true, and so is to other films from other countries that feature these kinds of social situations). However, the point is not the idea of crime but the depiction of characters and even the archetypal Japanese people themselves.Yojimbo as a portrait of cultural and social deteriorationIt is obvious that Kurosawa wished to depict a picture of the Japan during that time, especially as he included many scenes that tell us how t he Japanese society during that time is on the verge of a moral collapse and how the consciousness and culture of the people are being molded and transformed by the rise of capitalism.For instance, there is a scene wherein a farmer’s son decided to go to the city to look for fortune. The son said that a short exciting life rather than a long life eating rice-gruel†, justifying his act. The scene gives us a picture of how the young Japanese during that time are longing for ‘excitement’ and ‘fun’, two things that are not present in the strict Japanese culture where one eats rice-gruel everyday. This kind of thinking is an influence of the individualistic (and often ‘decadent’) point of view, as traditionalists put it. The need for cheap and fast thrills, in contrast to the traditional and strict Japanese was also put side by side in the same scene wherein the farmer replies to his son: everyone is after easy money these days. The fil m highlighted this contradiction, as even the main theme of the film revolves around this contradiction. The presence of bandits and crime lords in the Japanese culture is not a product of an innate human desire to kill or steal, but a product of the human desire to enlarge his/her property.This fact was highlighted by the film, as it portrayed the crime lords as greedy individuals who are in constant strife and chaos in order to stabilize their power in the society. The film resolves this contradiction in the end, as the protagonist faces the son and tells him that a long life eating rice-gruel is the best (da Silva 2004). This implies that the better life is the peaceful, the stable and, to put it further, the traditional. This tells us how the film rejects the adventurist and chaotic lifestyle that capitalism endows for those who have the financial power. It also tells how the money gives us the illusion that ‘the grass is greener on the other side of the fence’, as it means the rejection of one’s cultural identity and even one’s own identity in the process. The symbol of ‘rice-gruel’ brings in the symbol of the traditional agricultural lifestyle of the Japanese, of how they are directly connected to land and rejecting it will be like rejecting one’s inherent culture and identity (Richie 2006 p.75). In the film, people such as the farmer’s son chose to live this lifestyle in exchange of the illusionist promise of wealth and adventure in the city.The critique may appear plausible until we see how the film commits the same crimes that it preaches as bad. It is because the film itself is a foreign cultural product. Although the film may be enlightening and true, the archetype and elements that it employed is not necessarily reflective. It is leaned towards a foreign bias, and in this sense, it would be a complete destruction of its credibility.The film utilized these elements in order to gain acceptance in the Western film-making circle. One may question why a film needs to be accepted by Western standards. Directly speaking, the primary reason is to gain profit, which is of course in turn the primary reason of mainstream filmmaking. Hence, the film is also geared towards profit, and it rejected the use of authentic Japanese elements in order to gain these profits (not necessarily in the form of money). The film, therefore, is like the farmer’s son who rejected rice-gruel in exchange of money and adventure that he can gain in the city.ConclusionIn formal terms, the film is good and is acceptable. The different filmmaking elements are given creative attention, and the film was generally executed finely. However, one apparent characteristic of the film is that it utilized (and even ripped-off) certain elements, characters and concepts from Western films. Hence, it highlights how the film is heavily influenced by Western filmmaking canons and techniques.The content of the film is also commendable, as it served as a critique of the Japanese cultural deterioration during the said era, and this deterioration is indeed a universal phenomenon that transcends the eras and even to other countries. However, the film also committed this error as the film in itself is a product of Western influence, and it is apparently geared towards Western acceptance and profit. Hence, although the concept is commendable, the film in itself cannot be considerable credible picture of the Japanese society.Referencesda Silva, Joaquà ­n. Yojimbo: Study of a Disintegrating Society. http://redsiglo21.com/eiga9/articulos/yojimbo.html January 24 2004. Web. Accessed 12 May 2010.Richie, Donald, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, University of California Press, 1996. Print.Richie, Donald. A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History. Kodansha International, 2005. Print.

A Writers Bookshelf

A Writers Bookshelf A Writers Bookshelf A Writers Bookshelf By Sharon No-one knows it all, and as a writer I use several sources of research for my articles and ebooks. Aside from the resources I use to research particular topics, there are also several essential books I need related to the craft of writing. Here are the books on my bookshelf which I couldnt do without. Dictionary My top pick for this is the Collins English Dictionary. Its an easy to read, clear format. I used to use the Oxford English Dictionary. I switched to the Collins because I was already using their French and Spanish dictionaries, so when it was time to update, it seemed a good idea to complete the set. Another good option (especially if youre American) is the Merriam Webster Dictionary. I sometimes use the online version of MW if I need to check something when Im not at my desk. Thesaurus Many people rave about Rogets Thesaurus. I find that hard to use, so my favorite is the Merriam-Webster thesaurus. Thats because it is easy to find the words for which I want to find synonyms. Again, MW online is a good option when on the move. Usage Every now and then you need to use a word, punctuation mark or expression, and youre not quite sure how to use it correctly. When this happens, I have two main sources. Ive been using the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors since I started in journalism, and its never let me down. For a more fun approach to usage, theres also a more recent book by R L Trask called Mind The Gaffe. Published by Penguin, its a guide to some common errors in English. Finally, although I dont use it every day, I also keep a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology handy. Its always useful to be able to find the origin of a word or expression. Just call me a word nerd. 🙂 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersFlier vs. FlyerComment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Bouns assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bouns - Assignment Example This can be due to not being aware of what is common knowledge and not knowing the range of works that must be cited, such as diagrams, charts, pictures, and other visual works (â€Å"Is It Plagiarism Yet?†). An example is when students think that a statement is common knowledge, when it is not because it is debatable or contestable (â€Å"Is It Plagiarism Yet?†). They engage in accidental plagiarism because they do not intend to copy any work and do not have the explicit will to make it look like they originally own it. Plagiarism is not worth the risk of being caught because it can lead to failed grades and even suspension. At the same time, it can impact the students’ credibility, especially his/her academic standing. It can ruin their image to academic institutions and the public. To prevent plagiarism, it is essential to know proper citation styles and to be sure to clarify when something belongs to other people’s works and when something belongs to one’s own ideas and

How to Write a Thesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

How to Write a Thesis - Essay Example The thesis proposal will show your thesis advisor the soundness (or the lack of it) of the thesis problem that you will pursue, the propriety of a research topic or the feasibility of the entire study, among others.One must never forget that in the whole process of thesis writing, constant communication with the thesis advisor is imperative. This thesis advisor is more in the position to suggest improvements, point out mistakes – in short provide invaluable insights that could increase your thesis’ chance of getting high mark. Moreover, the world may be impressed by outward show – neat typography and pretty layout - but assessors in higher education and professional people in your field should not be deceived by ornament. No amount of embellishments could hide the deficiencies in other respects. For instance, we have the inability to use language confidently and correctly, or from the use of inappropriate headings, or from the inclusion of information or ideas th at are inappropriate, irrelevant or out of place.For more resources about thesis writing, you may visit these pages: It is understandable that sometimes, due to time constraints, academic activities overload, a student could not single-handedly finish a thesis project. It may be a result of mistake in planning or adverse circumstances. However the case is, the consequences are quite unthinkable. For some researchers the thesis statement is the research question formulated in order to narrow a subject and give the thesis a direction.

Arguments for and against Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arguments for and against Death Penalty - Essay Example However, a common opinion in regard to the use of death penalty has not been accomplished. This essay is an argument regarding the use of death penalty. It presents some reasons why death penalty should be abolished, while on the other hand it presents several reasons why the application of death penalty is right. There are certain situations whereby I have reasoned that death penalty should be applied on some of the crimes against humanity. For example, there are situations whereby people hire killers to cause the demise of those whom they feel are a barrier to their prosperity. Others do this as a result of disputes. The most amazing thing is that those who carry out such murders would never like to be faced with a situation whereby they can lose their life. The big question is why anyone would want to terminate another person’s life while he/she would not like his/hers to be terminated. This is selfishness that does not need to be supported under all the circumstances. Case y (2000) argues that once a person kills for the first time, it is likely that he is going to take the life of another. Human beings are vulnerable to death caused by fellow humans in many cases. This is because a person with the intention of killing another is intelligent enough to way lay the unsuspecting victim regardless of the living environment. I disagree with the people who argue that assassins should be sentenced to serve jail terms whereby they get rehabilitated with a situation whereby.

Assessing The Impact Of Over Fishing Environmental Sciences Essay

Assessing The Impact Of Over Fishing Environmental Sciences Essay Nowadays the demand of marine resources constantly grows. The growing demand stimulates the development of fishery and other marine resources exploitation. However, the unreasonable use of marine resources can cause the fatal damage to some ecosystems and to the global ecosystem of the world ocean. The over fishing is a main concern. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, provides the statistics about the global production from capture fisheries in the world. Within the recent two decades (starting from 1985) the reported landings of marine capture fisheries have fluctuated between 80 and 86 million tones per year (DKNVS report, 2006) However, the constantly increasing contribution of developing countries and China leads to the progressive growth of captive fisheries volume. At the same time, the overfishing in some regions has already led to ecosystem degradation and some species extinction. Analytics think that at the nearest future the fish will stay the inc reasingly high-value commodity, and the global demand to the fish and marine products will continue to grow. The usage of other marine resources, like energy resources, minerals, and gene pool, also grows and can lead to overuse and ecosystem degradation, too. In the aggregate the human exploitation of the marine resources and other factors of human influence, like the water pollutions and coastal agriculture, can lead to the irreversible changes in the ecosystem of the ocean up to the total degradation. Nowadays the technological potential of humankind doesnt have the technologies of marine ecosystem resurrection. The thesis of this paper the following: the human exploitation of the marine sources has to be controlled to prevent overfishing and other kinds of overuse, or the ecosystem of the global ocean can be irreparably damaged. Human exploitations: earth vs sea Humans are the link in the food chain so the human activity has an impact on ecosystems. Even early human societies changed the surrounding ecosystems. Nowadays the growth of human population and its impact on the environment escalated the problem on the global scale. Sure, the exploitation of the land resources is more active than the exploitation of the marine sources. There are many terrestrial ecosystems damaged and ruined with human factors. However, the lower speed of marine life cycle causes harder resurrection of the pelagic sources. The principal difference in the human exploitation on the land and on the sea is the following: on the land the humankind rebuilt the structure of terrestrial ecosystems and replaced the wild species with the domestic species. In the sea the important species werent replaced. They became extinct and the extinction of some marine species led to the degradation of marine ecosystems. Despite the existing fisheries regulations, the last majority of t he fish stocks throughout the ocean are overfished. Not only fishes but marine animals like turtles and whales and some species suffer from population reduction up to 40% comparatively to the population volume a century ago. Some popular species are almost approaching extinction, for example, blue-fin tuna. There are three types of overfishing, or three kinds of direct effects of captive overfishing. To make the maximal gain per recruit the fish should grow to the proper average size. The fishery of the smaller fish is a growth overfishing. To replenish the population it is needed the proper percent of mature adults. The shortage of mature adults in the population to the lower the level of reproductive capacity is a recruitment overfishing. The change in the balance of ecosystem caused by fishery and preventing the population growth is an ecosystem overfishing. All three types of overfishing have the negative impact on the ecosystem. Thus, the exploitation of marine resources should be more careful and reasonable because of lower temp of resurrection. Ecosystem effects of overfishing Overfishing as a treat to biodiversity There are also some indirect effects of overfishing, and the decrease in biodiversity is one of them. The loss in biodiversity is a serious treat to the ecosystem in a whole. The cumulative loss of species-from inconspicuous worms to large fish-sharply reduces the ability of sea life to resist diseases, filter pollutants and rebound from stresses such as overfishing and climate change (Blankenship, 2006) The numerous studies show that higher rate of biodiversity is the base of health and stability of ecosystem, as well as its ability to recover. However, the overfishing and the collapse of some the most popular species create the trend, which can lead to the total collapse of ocean ecosystem in 2048 (Blankenship, 2006). The careful fishery management can prevent the total collapse but the strict limits and bans should be implemented without delay. The alternations in the food chains Italian scientist Lorenzo Camerano outlined the dilemma of double-sided regulation in 1880 year. The dilemma is following: the high amount of birds can decrease the population of the insets in ecosystem, however, the number of birds can be high only on those regions were the large amount of food (mainly insects) is available. (Sheffer et al, 2005)This particular example illustrates the top-down and bottom-up mechanism of regulation in the ecosystem. The bottom-up regulation is the main mechanism of natural regulation and the marine ecosystems are no exception. However, the human interference is an important factor of top-down regulation, which changes the natural regulation in ecosystems including marine ones. The nature of food chain is similar in every ecosystem: solar energy and inorganic compounds are transformed by autotrophs, chemotrophs and litotrophs through photosynthesis and chemosynthesis to organic compounds. Then the organic compounds are transformed by heterotrophs into the more complex organic compounds. The predators are the highest link in the pyramid. Usually the number of predators is regulated by the number of low-level organisms. The disappearance of predators from the food chain can lead to the unrestrained growth of low-level organisms population. The marine ecosystems have their specific features. The role of photosynthesis isnt as significant as in terrestrial ecosystems. On the other hand, the majority of chemotrophic organisms inhabit the ocean. The primary producer in the marine ecosystem is phytoplankton and the fish is a main natural predator. Nowadays the top positions in the food web of all ecosystems are occupied with people. The overfishing, or the extinction the main natural fishing, can lead to trophic cascading effects changes in the ecosystems. The recent example of trophic cascading effects caused by overfishing The ecosystem of Canadian East Coast, hardly damaged with cod overfishing, suffers from the particular changes in the ecosystem. The east coast of Newfoundland was historically known as the region of fishery. The article in the Greenpeace archive tells that in 1497 year the explorer John Cabot wrote the huge cod school virtually blocked his ship. Five centuries after the Canadian government totally banned the fishery in this region because of the collapse of ecosystem. After the decrease of large fish population following level of the food web small fishes and large invertebrates, such as northern shrimp and northern snow crab significantly increased the population volume. The growth on this food-web level caused the shortage on its nutritive base, large plant-eating zooplankton (> 2 mm). The decrease of zooplankton, in its turn, became the reason for phytoplankton population volume increase. The unexpected (but natural) consequence was the exponential increase in seal populations. The large fishes like cod compete with seals in the food web for the nutrition base. The extinction of main competitor allowed growing the seal population. The economic consequences of cod overfishing were also significant. Thus, the cod stocks have started to recover in areas south of 44 degrees north. The strict bans can help to recover the cod population and to return the ecosystem to its initial state. However, other areas north of 44 degrees North the cod stock failed to recover despite a nearly complete shutdown of cod fishing. The coastal communities of Newfoundland still suffer from the job loss and struggle to recover. The changes in marine ecosystem lead to the shift in commercial fishery to the low-level of food-web, smaller fishes and crabs. Nowadays the economic value of the shrimp and crab fisheries is more than the earlier value of the cod fishery. Other indirect effects There are also some other indirect effects of oversifishing that are not so visible, but they also contribute to the general problem. The loss of macrofauna leads to the loss of ecosystem structure and the rise of pests. Generally pests are the species detrimental to humans. In the case of degraded marine ecosystems pests are the invasive species. With the lack of restrictive factors such species are able to congest the ecosystem and force out almost all native species declining the biodiversity. For example, European green crab, the native inhabitant of Baltic sea and the northern part of the Atlantic ocean, became the invasive specie in the seas of Australia, South Africa and South America. The ghost fishing is effect from fishing nets lost of left in the ocean by fishermen. The nets are almost invisible in the dim underwater light. They can drift for a long distance. Fishes, marine animals, sea birds and even human divers can be caught and entangled with the net. The net restrict movement and can cause the disease, starvation and suffocation. The volume of ghost fishing can hardly be evaluated because the most victims go down the ocean bottom. Methods of overfishing prevention The importance of fishery management increases simultaneously with the fishery development. The most popular methods of over fishing prevention are the implementation of fishing quotas, limits and bans, the development of fishing farms instead of captive fishery, the coastal zone management and some other measures. Fishing quotas, limits and bans Studies and analyses show that in the nearest future the sustainability concerns will increase due to environmental controversy. The growing demand will require the increase of fishery but the protection of marine ecosystems will require the strict bans, limits and control. The developed countries should implement the environmental regulations and institutions first and provide the same norms to the developing countries. The use of fishoil and feashmeal should become the important issue of the national policy. For example, China bans the fishery in the South China Sea for the certain period every year. However, all the quotas and limits cause the protests and resistance from fishermen. Fishing farms The fishing farms are rather new but successful kind of fish production. According to FAO statistics, the contribution of aquaculture to global supplies of fish, crustaceans and molluscs continues to grow, increasing from 3.9 percent of total production by weight in 1970 to 29.9 percent in 2002. Worldwide, the sector has grown at an average rate of 8.9 percent per year since 1970, compared with only 1.2 percent for capture fisheries and 2.8 percent for terrestrial farmed meat-production systems over the same period. (DKNVS report, 2006) the shift to the fish farming from the captive fishing is rather slow. However, the fish farming can help to protect and even prevent the extinction of marine species. Thus, last year in Australia the first land farm of southern blue-fin tuna was established. The blue-fin tuna is very popular fish because of its buttery meat, for this reason this species is almost collapsed. The land farm fishing is a real fishing alternative and should be developed. Coastal Zone Management The Norwegian experience shows that coastal zone plans for every municipality can be very useful. These plans should designate the zones for tourism and recreation, for agriculture; for certain fishery related activities and protected zones. These plans should be revised within a certain number of years according the results of activities. Other methods of fishing control The pelagic stocks should be protected not only from overfishing but form the pollutions and the issue of global ocean environmental protection will receive more attention worldwide. The use of fish products in the terrestrial agriculture (like the use of fishoil as the nutritional supplement) should be reconsidered and reduced. Among the other measures of pelagic stocks protection should be the reduction and mitigation of the environmental impacts of intensive aquaculture. At last, the global institutions worldwide should develop the programs of poverty reduction on the seaside zones. It is necessary to reduce the volume of the captive fishery, both legal and illegal, and shift the fishery to fish farming. Exploitation of other marine living resources The overfishing is in the focus of this research; however, it is necessary to mention other kinds of marine resources exploitation. Besides the biomass resources like fish, plant and marine invertebrates, the marine resources include the raw resources (underwater deposits of oil, gas and minerals and the minerals dissolved in the sea water), the energy resources (thermal energy, wave energy, etc), and the gene pool. The development of underwater oil deposits (offshore drilling) started in the 19s century. For more than a century it became clear that offshore drilling changes the marine ecosystems in the region. The recent accident on the BP oil platform in the Caribbean Sea attracted the attention of global publicity to the problem of offshore drilling environmental impact and renewed the hot debates regarding the issue. The oil price growth stimulates the offshore drilling development, but the environmental damage of it overweighs the profits from oil trade in the long-term perspect ive. The genetic potential of marine sources also attracts the attention to the marine sources. The biological and chemical diversity of the pelagic sources are well-known. Unique chemical compounds have a great potential for the cosmetic, pharmaceutics, and agrochemical industries. The global ocean also hosts more than 300,000 species of plants and animals, and the scientists claim the majority of deep-water species is still undiscovered. Thus, the gene pool of marine biomass is a field of active research. The observations in Norwegian marine industries provide the information that a relatively small number of marine plants, animals, and microbes have already yielded more than 12,000 novel chemicals. Some of the marine bioactive substances (with industrial applications as technological compounds, laboratory tools or ingredients in cosmetics) are already marketed and generate high benefits to mankind (and investors) (DKNVS report, 2006). Thus, the chemical compounds arabinosides extracted from the sponge, Tethya crypta, can be used in antiviral pharmacology and as the medicine in the acute myeloid leukemia treatment. It has a market potential up to $50 million annual sales. The further research of the marine species and their potential will lead to the additional attention to the marine resources. However, the exploitation of any marine resource can be carefully managed and controlled to prevent the collapse of ocean ecosystem. Summary and conclusion The researches of marine resources discover new and new potential of its commercial use. The gene pool and the variety of chemical compounds in the ocean open new possibilities in pharmacology, industrial chemistry, cosmetics, etc. Modern technologies allow the development of offshore drilling and the underwater mining. However, the overuse of these possibilities can lead to the collapse of marine ecosystem. The example of overfishing shows the possible consequences of marine sources overuse. The fishery exists as long and humankind, thus its consequences are the most obvious and significant. The overshishing causes the decrease of diversity in ecosystems, the tropic cascading effects, and even the collapse of some species. It is the treatment to overall ecological unity of the ocean. The fishery management can slowdown the ecosystem degradation and prevent the irreparable damage. The modern techniques of fishery management include fish quotas and bans, fish farming, coastal zone management and some other global management like the struggle with poverty in the coastal zones. The human factor already created the trend to the collapse of ocean ecosystem, and the immediate measurer are necessary to prevent it.

Anselm’s Philosophy Essay -- Religion Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Anselm’s Philosophy Anselm's definition of AGod starts by saying that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. When Anselm states this, it essentially means that it is not possible to think of a being greater than God. Anselm also states that if God is the greatest thinkable being, he is referring to the fact that it would be impossible to imagine or to create in ones mind someone or something being better than God. Therefore, it would be impossible to say that God only exists in ones mind because it is much greater to exist in reality than it is to exist only in ones mind. Anselm then suggests that God has many attributes which describe him. Among these being: self-existent, a necessary being, omnipotent, omniscient, completely just and timelessly eternal. After reading the Proslogion by Anselm, it gave me a greater understanding of these attributes listed above. Although, they are all of equal importance, I feel the most prominent of God's attributes is the fact that he is self existent. In essence, that means that God depends on nothing else for his existence, he is uncaused. Therefore, his existence is timelessly-eternal. This means that God cannot stop existing. On the other hand, contingent beings (such as ourselves) depend on something else for their existence. One example of this is, that as a child we utterly depended on our parents for food, clothing, and shelter. Contingent beings therefore can begin to be or cease to be at anytime. They can, unlike God, be here today and gone tomorrow. Anselm uses the definition of God (the ontological argument), in which I have described above, to prove God's existence. As I mentioned, Anselm believes that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. He does this by first trying to prove the opposite of what he really wants to prove. For example, lets suppose God does not exist in reality. We then could think of something greater, a being that has all the same virtuous characteristics as we think God as having, but also being able to exist in reality. He then tries to prove that this supposition leads to a conclusion which cannot possibly be true. Then the original God would not actually be the greatest thinkable being, this new something else, that actually exists would be. This new God which actually exists would then be able to be seen, heard and touched by the individuals... ...that I have with Anselm's philosophy is that he believes that if you can imagine something existing then it defiantly does exist. In the book Anselm's critics state Athat someone who does not know the meaning of the word, who thinks only of the impression made on his mind by hearing the word and tries to imagine its meaning. (Anselm P. 395) There is no way to use a word such as God as a being or an existence because I believe that everyone has a different definition. I can understand the words Agreatest possible being but understanding this does not necessarily mean that such a being exists. For example, I understand the words Aflying car, but we all know that there are no flying cars. But Anselm argues that AI have the concept of this being in my mind, therefore this being exists. (Anselm p.395) I believe that this is where Anselm takes a giant leap of faith. In conclusion to whether Anselm's definition of God gives actual proof of God's existence, I believe that the only way to believe that God actually exists is by having true faith in him. Although, Anselm gives many possible reasons for God's existence. Most of these reasons are rather vague and unbelievable. Anselm’s Philosophy Essay -- Religion Philosophy Philosophical Essays Anselm’s Philosophy Anselm's definition of AGod starts by saying that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. When Anselm states this, it essentially means that it is not possible to think of a being greater than God. Anselm also states that if God is the greatest thinkable being, he is referring to the fact that it would be impossible to imagine or to create in ones mind someone or something being better than God. Therefore, it would be impossible to say that God only exists in ones mind because it is much greater to exist in reality than it is to exist only in ones mind. Anselm then suggests that God has many attributes which describe him. Among these being: self-existent, a necessary being, omnipotent, omniscient, completely just and timelessly eternal. After reading the Proslogion by Anselm, it gave me a greater understanding of these attributes listed above. Although, they are all of equal importance, I feel the most prominent of God's attributes is the fact that he is self existent. In essence, that means that God depends on nothing else for his existence, he is uncaused. Therefore, his existence is timelessly-eternal. This means that God cannot stop existing. On the other hand, contingent beings (such as ourselves) depend on something else for their existence. One example of this is, that as a child we utterly depended on our parents for food, clothing, and shelter. Contingent beings therefore can begin to be or cease to be at anytime. They can, unlike God, be here today and gone tomorrow. Anselm uses the definition of God (the ontological argument), in which I have described above, to prove God's existence. As I mentioned, Anselm believes that God is the greatest being we can possibly think of. He does this by first trying to prove the opposite of what he really wants to prove. For example, lets suppose God does not exist in reality. We then could think of something greater, a being that has all the same virtuous characteristics as we think God as having, but also being able to exist in reality. He then tries to prove that this supposition leads to a conclusion which cannot possibly be true. Then the original God would not actually be the greatest thinkable being, this new something else, that actually exists would be. This new God which actually exists would then be able to be seen, heard and touched by the individuals... ...that I have with Anselm's philosophy is that he believes that if you can imagine something existing then it defiantly does exist. In the book Anselm's critics state Athat someone who does not know the meaning of the word, who thinks only of the impression made on his mind by hearing the word and tries to imagine its meaning. (Anselm P. 395) There is no way to use a word such as God as a being or an existence because I believe that everyone has a different definition. I can understand the words Agreatest possible being but understanding this does not necessarily mean that such a being exists. For example, I understand the words Aflying car, but we all know that there are no flying cars. But Anselm argues that AI have the concept of this being in my mind, therefore this being exists. (Anselm p.395) I believe that this is where Anselm takes a giant leap of faith. In conclusion to whether Anselm's definition of God gives actual proof of God's existence, I believe that the only way to believe that God actually exists is by having true faith in him. Although, Anselm gives many possible reasons for God's existence. Most of these reasons are rather vague and unbelievable.