Sunday, January 26, 2020

Constitution of the United States and Crime

Constitution of the United States and Crime Introduction In the United States, there are many correctional systems whereby while some houses the most dangerous criminals globally, others house the criminals who do not require a lot of security. The purpose of the correctional systems is using them in the detention of the criminals who have been convicted of the crimes that are against the outlined rules in the society. The main goal of the correctional facilities in thus to punish the wrongdoers as well as rehabilitate them so that they can be in a position to live a law-abiding life once they are released back to the society (McElreath, 2012). The professionals in these correctional facilities such as the parole officers, probation officers, jailers and the guards in the correctional facilities are supposed to be careful to avoid violating the rights of any individual in the facilities while still ensuring that they uphold the punishment. The professionals are expected to uphold the ethical standards in their execution of justice. In this paper, the parts of the constitution which are closely related to the ethics in the correction professionals will be discussed and use of social justice principles by the professionals to build a just society. In addition to this, the paper will also address how the criminal theory is practically used by the correctional officers and three issues that are faced by correctional professionals regularly and the way to respond to them. Corrections professionals must execute justice by upholding the law in an ethical and constitutional manner. Identify and explain which parts of the Constitution of the United States are most relevant to the ethical standards of corrections professionals. In the United States, various outlined rules are supposed to be followed in the field of criminal justice, and they give the criminals their rights. One of the parts of the Constitution of the United States which is most relevant to the ethical standards of corrections professionals is the one which gives the criminals their rights. This outlines that the criminals should not be harmed in anyway irrespective of the crimes that they have committed. The countries criminal system do not cause harm to them because they can be released from the prosecution and their case acquainted if the prosecution is done in their favor and no act of immorality is found. The officers in charge of the law enforcement in the country must always ensure that they execute justice in a way that the law is upheld in a constitutional and an ethical manner. The Department of Justice in the United States aims at the prevention and the resolving of the conflicts and the tensions that arise between communities as a result of discriminatory policies, actions, and practices by color, nationality, and race. All the law enforcement officers are thus expected to follow as well as obey the outlined rules and regulations at all times. How corrections professionals ensure that they uphold the Constitution One of the ways in which the correction professionals ensure that they uphold the Constitution is through ensuring that they do not inflict any injury to the inmates irrespective of the crimes that they have committed. In case the inmates are assaulted, they are supposed to report on the issue through writing for investigations to be carried out to punish the individual who assaulted them. The other way in which the correctional professionals should ensure that they uphold the Constitution is by ensuring equality among all the inmates irrespective of their race, color, the origin or the crime committed (Pollock, 2014).   All the inmates should be treated similarly irrespective of whether they committed murder, petty crimes or even kidnapping. They should, however, avoid putting together the inmates who committed murder and the ones convicted for shoplifting since it is dangerous for the two individuals involved. The other way in which the correctional professionals should ensure th at they uphold the Constitution is by avoiding solidarity among them. This is illegal, and the correctional professionals should avoid this to avoid doing illegal thinks when together on the clock. Analyze the ways in which corrections professionals use the social justice principles of equality, solidarity, and human rights to build a more just society. One of the ways in which the correctional professionals use the social justice principles of equality, human rights, and solidarity is by reporting anything that is illegal that is being done by other correctional professionals to each other or the inmates. Although the inmates are locked in, they should still be treated as human beings, and they deserve it. Since the inmates are in the custody of the state, they should be provided with food and shelter for protection purposes at the time they are incarcerated. The inmates should thus be taken care of, and their human rights should not be violated. The other way in which the correctional professionals use the social justice principles of equality, human rights and solidarity are through exercising their duties and responsibilities. These professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, they are involved in the community corrections, and they also carry out the evaluations on the restorative justice. In addition to this , many programs are offered at the correctional institutions which include; the rehabilitation programs for alcohol, management of anger and drugs and these are usually created to help the people who need these resources, but they cant   access them while they are out of the jail. Why people commit crimes and how corrections professionals use criminal theory in their practice There are many theories which describe the reasons why people commit crimes. These theories are used by the practitioners in the correctional facilities in their day to day practices. One of the theories which explain why people commit crimes is the social learning theory. This theory depicts that people usually develop the motivation to commit a crime and the skills that they require in the crime process as a result of the people that they interact with. The social learning theories speculate that young people learn the ways in which they are supposed to behave depending on the ways in which their elders responds to their violation or the compliance on the rules (Banks, 2013). The appropriate behavior is indicated in the society through rewarding the morally acceptable behavior and punishing or imposing penalties on the transgressions. With time, the transgression is usually associated with the sanction thereby producing the sanction even at times when there is no one available to c heck on the sanctions. It is as a result of this process that the young people can learn how to control themselves by the legal and the moral codes. The other theory which explains why people commit the crime is the strain theory. According to this theory, many people in the society have aspirations that are similar, but the truth is that they have differing opportunities or the abilities to meet their aspirations. Whenever the people are not able to meet the expectations that the society have on them through the means that are approved such as the delayed gratification and hard work, they may end up trying to achieve their desired success through engaging in criminal activities. The third theory which explains why people commit the crime is the social disorganization theory. This theory speculates that the social, as well as the physical environment of an individual, are primarily conscientious of the behavioral choices that the individuals make. For instance, in the neighborhoods that have social structures that are fraying, the chances of having crimes are very high. Such a neighborhood is likely to have poor schools, high lev el of unemployment, buildings that are vandalized and vacant and also the mixture of residential and commercial properties. It is thus as a result of the physical and the social environment that the people are brought up that can contribute to the behavioral practices that individuals adopt as they grow such as committing the crime. The correctional professionals use the criminal theories in their practice to come up with the best solutions that will assist in reducing the types as well as the levels of crime in the society (Akers, 2013). Three main issues that face corrections professionals on a regular basis and address the best responses to these issues. One of the main issues that the correctional professionals are faced with on a regular basis is the inmates behavior. This is one of the challenges that the correction professionals experience in their day to day tasks, and in some ways, they have the least control over the issue while in others, they have a high level of control. It is clear that most of the inmates are more willing to take instructions, combative and also to a great extent willing to argue. The cases of the verbal confrontations between the correctional officers and the professionals are very high, and in the current days, they usually develop into physical incidences, and it has become a norm. The best way in which the corrections professional can respond to this issue is by learning on how to deal with the inmates both verbally and physically than before. In this, the officers should learn the ways of deflecting, refocusing and getting back on the right track after an argument without necessarily getting angry an d losing their control. They should learn to know when the use of words fails so that they can take the necessary action to ensure control of the inmates without affecting their rights. They should thus get to realize that they have an objective standard on how they take care of the inmates. The second main issue that the correctional professionals are faced with on a regular basis is the negative media attention. Commonly, the members of the public i.e. readers complain that the media only covers negative news about the corrections. The readers are right because the media always concentrates on the negative stories on the corrections without generating any of the positive stories (Siegel, 2017). The best response to address this issue is focusing on the positive which can be achieved through an administrative decision focusing on pushing out the positive content. Every facility should have public relations which aim at getting the positive stories out such as officers protecting the inmates from harm, food drive, and collections made by officers as presents to the kids during Christmas among others. The third issue that the correctional professionals are faced with on a regular basis is inadequate training among the midlevel supervisors. This is a challenge because most of the frontline supervisors who are required to evaluate the incidents where force should be used do not have the required knowledge and skills to do it in the right manner. This results in the situation whereby the officers can get away with their improper behaviors and thus ineffectiveness of the correctional system. In addition to this, the reports are not written in the right way, and the reviews are merely done, and when done they are poor. The best response to address this issue is ensuring that the correctional professionals are well trained such that they are well all rounded on all the roles and responsibilities that they are supposed to play in the organization. In addition to this, the state should secure enough funds for the training of the supervisors and other staff working in the correctional faci lities. In conclusion, the correction professionals should ensure that they uphold and achieve the goal of the correctional facilities which is the punishing of the wrongdoers and rehabilitating them. They should be careful to avoid violation of the rights of the inmates and still uphold the punishment required. In addition to this, they should ensure that they uphold social justice, equality, humanity and also ethicality in their process of executing justice. References Akers, R. (2013). Criminological Theories : Introduction and Evaluation. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Banks, C. (2013). Criminal justice ethics : theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. McElreath, D. (2012). Introduction to corrections. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Pollock, J. (2014). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Siegel, L. (2017). Corrections today. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Elementary Ethnography in the Movies

A not-so-usual moviegoer can create streams of thought inside the movie house, and the experience of being inside that large, dark hollow can be a quite vivid experience more than the plot of the film in the taking. This is the fine point of tangency of the two essays (sic) â€Å"The Magic of Moviegoing† (essay 1) and â€Å"Sit Down and Shut Up or Don’t Sit by Me† (essay 2). Besides this point of tangency, we see more divergence than convergence for the two essays. Basically, the two essays intentionally or unintentionally teach a lesson of simple social research. Employing the method of ethnography, Essay one draws up a conclusion of movie-going having several rituals in the process. This observation is characteristic of functionalist remark where daily human behavior is made up of different rituals, which serve its â€Å"function† or purpose.   Meanwhile, essay two utilizes the same observation method, but maintains the objective of watching a movie rather than remaining true to the objective research of the social science in action happening right before the author’s eyes. Ethnography employs participant observation – a process where â€Å"the researcher enters the group or situation that he or she is studying†¦to try to understand the motives and meanings of the group of people they are studying.†Ã‚   (Walsh, 2001: 67) The author of essay one amused himself for his discoveries inside the movie house as a participant observer. He says about the movie going ritual: â€Å"But there's another question, equally interesting, that seldom gets examined or even asked. It's not the What but the How of the matter: How do we watch the movies? How do we behave during this pop rite of going to the picture show?† The same amusement goes with the author of the second essay. He says of putting on the shoes of a famous socio-anthropologist, â€Å"I’ve amused myself with a Margaret Mead-like study of the way people come in and take their seats and their antics during the movie.† Analyzing from the point-of-view of the social research process, Essay one sticks with the object of the study – the group or the audience. Meanwhile, essay two keeps its observation only before the start of the film and shifts attention after the start of the film, thereby losing the consistency and intent of the study.   Thus, a small lesson for the student conducting a social research: be clear with your objective and remain objective with the study. Observations made in Essay one reflects behavior of people as a group or more formally, social psychology. Meaning, people act differently as an individual and as a group. The author realizes this by saying thus, â€Å"(the) convergence of disparate people turns into an audience.† Clearly, this is the reason why he posits that film viewing in the sala set is bland and lacking of the necessary effects to rival the vividness of experience and intensity of film viewing as a social experience. However, the first essay is quick to respond to the need of the second essay for attentiveness and ethics in watching movies. It said that, â€Å"when we are most truly alone, we are most truly an audience.† The author of the second essay would have been happy to know that the author of the former agrees with the point of etiquette inside the movie houses. Albeit implicitly, we are sure that second essay agrees that some sort of collective and social interaction during the movie proper is necessary to make the experience more fulfilling. In the whole, the two essays request the attention of movie buffs and the uninitiated alike.   One can be a student of sociology just by doing a thing we like most. A movie house can be a place full of lessons for the social research process. The catch is that one must have a keen eye and good sense of observation to capture life moments and scenes outside of the silver screen. REFERENCES: Atkinson, R. L., Atkinson, R.C., Smith, E., Bem, D., & Nolen-Hoeksma, S. (1953). Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology, 628-638. Walsh, M. (2001). Research Made Real: A Guide for Students, 66-68.   

Friday, January 10, 2020

Original Writing: Rumours over Rumours

It happened on a usual Friday in the autumn. The weather was very terrible: masses of rain were falling down the sky as if the clouds were exploding. There was no sun visible in the sky. The school bell rang and David put his stuff away and walked out of the classroom. He stood outside the school with his mates, waiting for their mums and dads to pick them up. Having to stay under the rain without any umbrella or a place where they could protect themselves from the rain. After 15 minutes standing and waiting outside in the cold David's last friend was picked up by his mother. That was very unusual as normally David is the first one to be able to go home, but this day was completely different. David had to wait about half an hour until the red BMW with his dad sitting inside arrived, red-faced and in hurry. David sat down on the front passenger's seat next to a normally unknown image. The car immediately made its way home. There was an uncommon silence inside the car. David sensed that something was definitely wrong, as normally he asks his son about how the day was. After a few minutes his Dad broke the silence: â€Å"David, how can you explain me the rumour that is there around our neighbourhood?† David just stared at the face of his Dad, thinking ‘What is he talking about? What is wrong with him?' â€Å"Don't look at me as if nothing had happened! You know exactly what I'm talking about. The rumour about you.† â€Å"What rumour!? I don't know anything about it – seriously. What's the rumour?† â€Å"The rumour is that one of my friend saw you in a bar smoking and drinking lots of vodka. He also saw you with another half nude girl. I can't remember her name.† â€Å"What? Who started that damned rumour about me? David asked innocently. â€Å"David – Is it true or not?† asked his dad suspiciously. â€Å"No dad! Of course it isn't true! I have never smoked or drunk any type of alcohol! You have to believe me dad! And I don't even know that girl you are talking about and I haven't been in that bar.† â€Å"Don't tell me any excuses young boy. Your mum will deal with you when we arrive at home† David kept quiet for the rest of their journey. David's dad only deposed David at home and drove away somewhere. David got much panicked because he knew that if his dad just went away without even speaking to his mum, it meant that trouble was waiting for David at home. Usually his mum does not get that angry with him and believes his son. But this time it was looking very differently because when he went into the house his mum was waiting for him on the couch. â€Å"You owe me an explanation young man!† she said in an unusual tone. â€Å"W-what is there to explain mum?† â€Å"Don't try to take the piss out of me! You know what I mean. The rumour about you. Is it true?† David shook his head slowly, â€Å"No mum† His mum laughed doubtfully: â€Å"Oh, c'mon! You think I can really believe you? I know you very well and you know that as well as I do how your face looks like when you are telling a lie. Why are you not just telling me the truth?† Depressed David looked up from the floor and said it straight out to his mum: â€Å"Yes mum! Yes – You are damn right. I was there in that pub and drunk a lot of alcohol and smoked. But you have to believe me; I don't know anything about that girl dad was telling me about. The bar is a clean bar and not a brothel.† â€Å"David, we never had any types of problems with your brother!† â€Å"Why don't you just tell me that into my face? You hate me and only think about Robert! Robert here, Robert there, he did this and that good think†¦ I've got enough of your Robert!† â€Å"OK David. I see, you don't want to be compared with your elder brother? I know the reason: It is because he is a good person and you are exactly the opposite of him. That's why you don't like him and don't want to be compared to him!† David was crying and silently went to his room. He laid down on his bed and cried. After a while he fell asleep. The next day was a holiday and David woke up very early, at about 6 o'clock. He first washed his face, got dressed and got back into his bed. He didn't have any breakfast because his mum was there and he didn't want to see her again. David spent all his day in his room doing nothing else as sleeping or playing around with his mobile phone. His parents completely ignored him, and so did he to them. His parents and David did not communicate to each other properly for about 4 week. David never went into this bar again, drunk alcohol or smoked cigarettes during this time although he was very depressed and often wished to go there. He thought of the possible effect that could happen if he did that again and got caught. When he got back to school after the holidays his mum started speaking with him and David felt very happy about it because in this period of time he found out how important a mother is to a son, which he just experienced. Their relationship was built together again and it seemed to be nothing that could break them both apart. But one day when David was at school his mum got a text message from one of David's mates that simply destroyed everything. This SMS was telling his mum that David went to a brothel and walked around with inadequately dressed girls. It was Jack, but he was lying. When David came back from school that day, her mother welcomed him with a slap. David got startled from that. He looked at his mother despairingly and didn't know the reason for this slap. â€Å"What did I do now mum? I swear to God I didn't go to that bar again or drunk alcohol!† he asked frightened. â€Å"You are a good actor David! I know that style of yours† â€Å"What!?† David asked without knowing anything. â€Å"I've had enough of you! D'you think I am that stupid? I just got a message from one of your friends telling me about Eva.† â€Å"I don't know any Eva! Who are you talking about?† â€Å"Oh c'mon David! First flirting with her in a bar and then walking around with her while she was wearing nearly nothing!† â€Å"Mum I don't have any girlfriend and neither I know anybody called Eva† â€Å"Why don't you just admit that you know that girl and the past rumour was true? You can't hide it forever!† â€Å"What should I admit? What am I hiding?† â€Å"You know what David? I don't even believe a single word coming out of your mouth!† â€Å"Do you know why I love my dad more than you? It's because you hate me! You only love Robert and don't care about me at all! I hate you too!† After saying this David ran upstairs to his room crying. He again lied down on his bed and thought about what he said. He regretted what he just said to his mum, because it wasn't true. He loved his mum a lot. It was just that they sometimes couldn't agree and had different thoughts about things. After a while he again slept. In that night he had a dramatic nightmare: He was falling into a whole without any end with his brother. There was a pavement on a side with people holding their hands up in order to catch one of the persons from falling. He saw how his brother Robert was able to rescue himself and survived. David himself was falling further and further into the whole, having no end. Suddenly he then woke up. When he woke up David realised that he was sweating extremely. He got out of his bed and washed his face in the bathroom. In the bathroom he looked at himself in the mirror and thought â€Å"I am dead anyway inside†. He was feeling an uncertain pain that was killing him inside. He looked at the clock; it was 3 o'clock. After he went back to his room he decided to write a letter to his parents about that he is trying to suicide. Once he put the letter on his desk, he opened the window and went out to the balcony. From the ladder there he climbed down the wall. There was a lake he knew about 5 kilometres away from his house, where he wanted to go. After looking back to the bedroom window of his parents and said farewell to his parents inside. He started his way to this lake by running all the five kilometres. He ran as fast as he had never done before. At about 3.30 he arrived there on the lake. David's biggest fear was a lake or sea as he could not swim. There were boats, which could be rented on the lake. As David didn't have any money with him he just took one and paddled to the centre of the lake. 5 kilometres away from where David was, his mum woke up and had the funny feeling that something was wrong, having to do with David. She decided to go to David's room to ensure that everything was alright. But in fact it wasn't at all. When she opened his room, she saw the empty room with the window open and the farewell letter on David's desk. She screamed a very ear-piercing scream when she read about David's suicide. At the same time David was in the centre of the lake and about to suicide himself. David closed his eyes and though about his family, his brother, mum and dad. Then he jumped into the lake with ice cold water and allowed the lake to swallow him†¦

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Euphony French Pronunciation

French is a very musical language because it tends to flow from one word to the next with no hiatus (pause). In situations where euphony—agreeable or harmonious sound—doesnt happen naturally, French requires that sounds be added or words changed. As a general rule, French does not like to have a word that ends in a vowel sound followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound. The pause created between two vowel sounds, called a hiatus, is undesirable in French, so the following techniques are used to avoid it [brackets indicate pronunciation]: Contractions Contractions avoid the hiatus by dropping the vowel at the end of the first word. For example: le ami [leu a mee] becomes lami [la mee] Liaisons Liaisons transfer the normally silent sound at the end of the first word onto the beginning of the second word. For example: vous avez is pronounced [vu za vay] instead of [vu a vay] T inversion When inversion results in a verb ending in a vowel il(s), elle(s), or on, a T must be added between the two words to avoid hiatus. For example: a-il [a eel] becomes a-t-il [a teel] Special Adjective Forms Nine adjectives have special forms used in front of words that begin with a vowel. For example: ce homme [seu uhm] becomes cet homme [seh tuhm] Lon Putting l in front of on avoids the hiatus. Lon may also be used to avoid saying quon (sounds like con). For example: si on [see o(n)] becomes si lon [see lo(n)] Tu Form of the Imperative The tu form of the imperative of -er verbs drops the s, except when followed by the adverbial pronouns y or en. For example: tu penses à   lui pense à   lui [pa(n) sa lwee] penses-y [pa(n) s(eu) zee] In addition to the hiatus-avoiding techniques above, there is an additional way in which French increases euphony: enchaà ®nement. Enchaà ®nement is the transfer of the sound at the end of one word onto the word that follows, such as in the phrase belle à ¢me. The L sound at the end of belle would be pronounced even if the next word began with a consonant, which is what distinguishes enchaà ®nement from liaison. Thus, enchaà ®nement does not avoid hiatus the way liaison does, because there is no hiatus after a word that ends in a consonant sound. However, what enchaà ®nement does is make the two words flow together, so that when you say belle à ¢me, it sounds like [beh lahm] instead of [bel ahm]. Enchaà ®nement thus increases the musicality of the phrase.