How to Start a Paper About Yourself

How to Start a Paper About YourselfSo you want to write a paper about yourself, right? Or someone else's? For that matter, do you have to be an expert in your field to write a paper about yourself?Some people say you do not have to have all the answers or be an expert to write a paper about yourself. In fact, some say that just about anyone can write a paper on themselves. But then they would tell you that this paper is just a form of self-pity. One of these books will show you how to start a paper about yourself and one of these books will show you why you should not even attempt to write a paper about yourself.Most people when they are trying to write a paper about themselves tend to write about something like 'The first word that came to mind'My favorite word'. When most people are asked, 'What did you like the most?' or 'What was your favorite meal?' the overwhelming response is usually a paper that is filled with about thirty different questions.Once you are trying to write a pa per about yourself, it may be best to limit the paper to only two or three subjects. You could keep this paper to a few short sentences. People who are writing papers about themselves might not like to spend the time writing a long article or chapter. Instead, they may want to cut the paper short and just summarize their feelings and emotions.But, remember, when you are writing a paper about yourself, it is important to stay within the lines of what is considered to be humanly possible. If the subject is sex, you will probably want to discuss marriage and sex. You will want to ask questions about sex, what it means, why it is important and what is okay to do and say during sex. You will want to use the positive aspects of sex and mention your own experiences and insights into the issue. Although, when you are trying to write a paper about yourself the positives of sex and the negatives of sex must be covered.Most people will probably choose a topic that interests them, write it as m uch as they can about that topic and include as many details as they can about the topic. They will then fill in the blanks with their own experiences and thoughts. Most often, a good way to limit a paper about yourself is to try to avoid a topic that is too trivial.So, now that you know the basics of how to start a paper about yourself it is time to take the next step and actually write a paper about yourself. Keep in mind that many of these books will help you by giving you tips on how to keep the paper under 200 words and even if you use only your own experiences and insights into the topic of your paper, it is still easier to write a paper about yourself than any other subject.

Prison and Parole Free Essays

CJ 365 1 – April – 2013 Parole In Society Last year, 77% of prisoners released from incarceration were released through and in to a system of community and authoritative supervision called parole. Parole is the conditional release from confinement of a person serving an indeterminate sentence (Corrections Today, page 262) and it is an idea which has had a huge impact on the justice system and the workings of the U. S. We will write a custom essay sample on Prison and Parole or any similar topic only for you Order Now Department of Corrections as we now know it. The concept of parole can be traced back to the works of Alexander Maconochie. Maconochie was the superintendent of a penal colony on Norfolk Island, Australia. In his work, Maconochie utilized a system through which good behavior was encouraged through the use of ‘marks’. Prisoners served their sentence in three stages of progressively increasing responsibility. Prisoners advanced through the first two stages through labor, studies and good behavior. They would then be released into the outside world under the condition that disobeying the law would result in reincarceration. Walter Crofton adopted Maconochie’s ideas as the basis for the ‘Irish mark system’ which made permissible the early release of prisoners with a record of good behavior. This mark system was instituted at the Elmira reformatory in the 1870s and from there went on to spread rapidly throughout the United States justice system. Today, around 77% of inmates that are released from prison do so through the parole system or some very similar form of community supervision. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at the end of 2011 there were 853,900 adults on parole and around 1. million adults that had moved on to or off of parole over the course of the year. The main goal of parole is to supervise the reintegration of inmates back into society and encourage their rehabilitation towards becoming a more productive member of society. There are three different purposes of the institution of parole: to help the parolee obtain help for problems with employment, residenc y, finance, and any other personal troubles that may interfere with a prisoner’s reintegration into everyday life; to make society safer by preventing situations in which prior offenders might commit new offense; and also to prevent the needless imprisonment of those not likely to commit further crime (Parole FAQ’s). Parole is often confused with probation, though they are distinctly different. Probation is used as an alternative to incarceration in which the offender receives state supervision whilst still living a mostly normal life, whereas with parole, an offender serves most of their sentence in a reformatory and pending good behavior, is then released to serve the remainder in the community (under state supervision). There are several rules and guidelines used to determine eligibility for parole that must first be met by an inmate. Eligibility for parole depends on the type of sentence assigned by the court. Accompanying an offender’s sentencing is a ‘parole eligibility date’. This is the earliest potential date upon which an offender may be released in the instance that the parole commission finds them suitable for release. Unless the court specifies a minimum amount of time that an inmate must serve or said offender is serving an indeterminate sentence, an inmate becomes eligible for parole after completion of one third of their court-mandated sentence. To apply for consideration, an inmate must fill out a parole application furnished by a case manager. The case manager then informs the potential parolee of his parole hearing date. This date generally occurs within a few months of placement in the respective institution, except in cases where the offender is serving more than ten years time. In this instance, ‘the initial hearing is scheduled six months prior to the completion of ten years. At this parole hearing, the offender receives an opportunity to present their side of the story and to offer their argument as to why they should be released. The general factors considered during a parole hearing include â€Å"the details of the offense, prior criminal history, the guidelines which the Commission uses in making their determination, the offender’s accomplishments in the correctional facility, details of a release plan, and any problems the offender has had to meet in the past and is likely to encounter again in the future† (USPC FAQs). When determining parole eligibility, there are four important factors which the parole commission must consider: can the inmate be released without being a detriment to himself and/or the community, will their release serve the best interest of the community, is the inmate willing and able to meet the conditions of both their parole assignment and of everyday life, and whether or not continued correctional treatment would further their chances of leading a normal, law-abiding life. To make a determination of these factors, each potential parolee is interviewed by the acting parole board. A parole board is a group of people who decide whether or not an offender should be released on parole. On February 7th, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed State of Michigan Executive Order No. 2011-3 abolished the ‘Michigan Parole and Commutation Board’ and replaced it with the ‘Michigan Parole Board’, granting membership â€Å"†¦ to ten full-time non-Civil Service employees who are appointed by the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections† (MDOC Parole Board). Michigan’s current board members come from a variety of backgrounds including law enforcement, law, corrections, ministry, social work and public service. These ten people are split up into three groups of three, with the remaining person acting as the chairperson and also the deciding vote in ties. The MPB (Michigan Parole Board) is the sole parole authority for prisoners under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Corrections. It should be noted that parole board structure and decisions differ from one jurisdiction to the next. According to statute MCL 791. 33, a prisoner may be granted parole only after the board has reasonable assurance, after consideration of all of the facts and circumstances, including the prisoner’s mental and social attitude, that the prisoner will not become a menace to society or to the public safety† (Parole – Learning More). Most prisoners are interviewed by one member of the board. This interview is used to explore th e offender’s criminal, social and substance abuse history, their behavior in prison, their plans for parole, and any other matters pertinent to the specific case. The prisoner is allowed to have one other ‘representative’ present at the interview with them (this representative cannot be a lawyer or fellow prisoner). On October 30th, 2004, the ‘Crime Rights Victims Act’ was enacted. This act is intended for the preservation of the rights of crime victims. A crime victim is defined as â€Å"an individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime is considered a victim† (Crime Victim’s Rights Act). This act entitles the crime victim notification and consultation throughout each step of the justice process. According to the act, at the written request of the victim, the MDOC must provide notifications at every stage of the prisoner’s incarceration process. This act also grants the victim the right to submit a written, telephone or oral impact statement to the parole board for hearing prior to the approval of a parole request consisting of any relevant statements regarding the effects of the crime upon the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime and any other details relevant to the crime, and also the victim’s personal opinion as to whether or not the offender should be released on parole. The parole board utilizes a numerical scoring system called the parole guidelines. This process applies objective criteria and is generally a significant factor in the parole approval decision process: in some situations, parole can be approved or denied before an interview even takes place. The score is important enough that in instances where the Parole Board makes a decision contradictory to that suggested guideline score, they â€Å"†¦must provide, in writing, substantial and compelling reasons in support of the decision. † The guidelines used in parole guidelines are outlined in Administrative Rule 791. 716 (Parole Consideration Process). After the hearing has been completed and the case file examined, the parole decision is made by three-member panels of the board. If their request is denied, the inmate is returned to the institution where they then have the option of filing an appeal of the parole decision with the National Appeals Board (so long as they do so with in thirty days of the date listen on the Notice of Action). The National Appeals Board then has the option of affirming, reversing or modifying the decision made by the regional commissioner, or they may order a new hearing. Decisions made by the National Appeals Board are final, and offenders will not have the option of appealing the Appeals Board’s decision. If the inmate declines to submit an appeal, he is legally entitled to reconsideration after a certain amount of time. If the inmate is sentenced to less than seven years, they will receive another hearing 18 months from the date of their last. If their sentence exceeds seven years, their next parole hearing will be scheduled 24 months from the date of the last. If the panel approves the parole request, the inmate’s case file is then assigned to a parole officer based upon the county in which the subject will be fulfilling their parole requirements over a specified amount of time. The offender should have a release plan denoting a suitable residence and ideally a verified offer of employment. This is not mandatory though and there are exceptions to this law which are decided on a person to person basis. If everything goes accordingly, the detainee will be released from incarceration on the date listed on their release certificate. They then return to their approved housing and must then report to the United States Probation Office listed on their certificate. Their assigned officer will establish a plan for regular reporting in person, along with mandatory monthly reports for the remainder of the sentence. Also listed on the release certificate are the rules and conditions by which the parolee agrees to live. So long as the parolee fulfills the requirements established by the parole board and finishes his parole period without any violations of the predetermined parole conditions, the parolee will be released from government supervision. These rules vary from one person to the next and are tailored by the Parole Board to better equip each individual offender for success in the integration process. Common conditions of parole often require abstaining from any and all drugs and alcohol, confinement to a defined area/perimeter, steady employment/residency, counseling or, if deemed necessary, enrollment into in-patient treatment facilities. In the event of a violation of parole conditions, the offender isn’t always returned to prison. Depending on the nature of the violation, various programs and sanctions can be used as an alternative to re-incarceration. The Michigan Department of Corrections cites â€Å"†¦an added emphasis on offender success in the community and tries to keep parolees out in the community when they believe that they can continue to be safely managed there† (Parole – Learning More). Though it is, like nearly every other government approach to social issues, plagued with disadvantages, parole serves as an efficient and mostly effective tool for managing some of the flaws and issues within the justice system. Parole allows the freeing up of space in already rapidly overcrowding prisons nationwide by releasing non-violent drug offenders and other reformed prisoners ready for reintegration into society, opening up space for inmates who pose a more serious threat to society. After spending months, years or even decades in prison, the average inmate has lost at least some sense of what life is like outside of their institution. Parole is a gentle easing back in to community life; allowing the prisoner supervision and some restrictions to help keep them from the activities which got them into trouble into the first place. Parole’s accompanying threat of a return to prison is often enough to deter those who might otherwise fall back into their old ways. Many inmates report feeling lost and alone following their release; some don’t know what to do in the absence of the basic structure and routine that they’d grown accustomed to during their period of incarceration. Parole is not a unanimously accepted issue and some think it to be little more than an extension of mercy towards the prisoner in the form of a reduced sentence. These people feel that early release on parole drastically reduces the effectiveness of the prison sentence. What most do not realize is that even if a person doesn’t receive approval for parole, this does not disqualify them from or affect their chances of an early release on account of good behavior and/or other contributing factors. Citing information from ‘White Paper’, a report compiled by a firm called â€Å"Prisoners’ Legal Services† which covers nearly all aspects of the current state of parole in Massachusetts; lower rates of parole negatively affect the prisoner, the community to which he returns, the crime victim, and also the justice system of which he is a part. The report states that the number of state and county prisoners released on parole decreased from 4,508 in 2010 to 2,043 in 2011. By the end of 2011, there were only 1,649 offenders out on parole; nearly half the number of the previous year’s end. In 2010, 38% percent of released offenders were put on parole, compared to 2012’s meager 15% release rate. Instead of having a parole officer to guide them through the reintegration process, prisoners are released back into the world with no form of supervision, services or support. Reduced parole approval rates also mean that prisoners serving time in medium and maximum security institutions return directly to the community with no transitioning steps. Failure to provide assistance to released inmates and the state’s ignorance of the rehabilitation process can be directly correlated with higher rates of recidivism. Recidivism is defined as â€Å"the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences for that ehavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior† (Recidivism, Wikipedia). Recidivism is one of the most important subjects of consideration within the criminal justice process as the purpose of a release from incarceration is rendered useless if the perpetrator will simply return to the life that lead him into the justice system in the first place. This is an issue of the highest priority as over 95% of prisoners serving time in state and federal prisons will eventually be r eleased back into the community. While the United States continues to take increasing measures aimed towards the arrest and incarceration of its criminals (resulting in drastically higher arrest rates and increasing issues with overpopulation and crowding in the nation’s institutions), it has failed to respond to increasing rates of recidivism among its prisoners. A survey conducted in 2003 by the Urban Institute of the Justice Policy Center reported that 53% of arrested males and 39% of arrested females would be re-incarcerated. This same study states that within three years of release, nearly seven out of every ten males will be rearrested and half of that number will end up back in prison. The report says recidivism happens due to both personal and situational conditions. It also claims that one of the main reasons for recidivism â€Å"†¦is because it is difficult for the individual to fit back in with normal life†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  It says many prisoners report anxiety regarding their release and excitement about how their life will be ‘different this time’ and this often proves a matter of utter disappointment and frustration in the instances where this doesn’t end up being the case. Nearly every study and report on the issue reports the same thing: the more efforts taken to work towards rehabilitation of released prisoners, the lower their chances of recidivism. The success rates of rehabilitation efforts depend largely on the nature of the original offense, but in almost every single instance, an inmate has a notably higher chance of success in the outside world with the assistance and support of the state. In 2010, 51% of United States federal inmates were doing time as a result of a drug-related charge. Estimates state that nearly three out of four prisoners returning from prison have a history of substance-abuse. Despite this, only 7%-17% of prisoners actually meet the DSM criteria for alcohol and drug dependence and actually receive treatment in prison. Effectiveness studies have reported that inmates who partake in residential treatment programs during their incarceration have 9%-18% lower recidivism rates, and possess a 15%-30% lower chance of relapse than their fellow prisoners who did not receive treatment. One interesting statistic to note is the rate of recidivism in offenders with prior arrest history. Within three years of release, 41% of prisoners with one prior arrest were re-arrested while 82% of those with more than fifteen prior arrests were re-arrested. A study published in McNair’s Scholar Journal entitled â€Å"The Relationship Between Parole and Recidivism in the Criminal Justice System† by Jacquelin Robinson of Grand Valley State University claims a direct association between parole and recidivism. Interestingly enough, she says that because of modestly high rates of parole violation and failure among parolees are a direct opposite of what they seemingly should be; as the rate of parole increases, so do the chances of recidivism. According to the same studies, parole supervision (regardless of how intensive) was not a direct contributor towards lower recidivism rates. This same article cites a study conducted by Jeremy Travis in May 2000 on behalf of the National Institute of Justice. Travis’ findings indicated that rehabilitation programs actually had very little effect on reduced recidivism and actually states that parole violations are ‘now the driving force behind prison growth’, being responsible for 34% of all admissions. A study entitled ‘Does Parole Work’ compiled by Amy Solomon of the Urban Institute in Washington D. C. for the Bureau of Justice Statistics offers statistics indicating a meagerly higher chance for recidivism of unconditional releases (61%) in comparison to discretionary parolees (57%). While these studies claim that parole supervision is next to useless, other studies present very different ideas. According to a four year study conducted by Rutgers University and presented to the New Jersey State Parole Board, intensive supervision of violent and high-risk offenders significantly reduces the chances that they will be re-arrested. According to this study, parolees subjected to intensive law-enforcement supervision and to programs designed to ease their re-entry into the community fared best, boasting a 41% recidivism rate in comparison to the 51% general parolee rate and the 73% rate of those who completed their full sentence and were under no supervision post-release. Though as a general whole, these high rates of recidivism and the low rates of parole success might seem to support the idea that parole is not a terribly effective manner of approaching the release and treatment of the country’s lower-threat class of criminals, it is proven more effective in cases involving violent/high-risk offenders which should be of a higher priority anyways. That said, parole also makes sense from a financial perspective which is ultimately of huge important in the process. Though it varies from one institution to the next and from state to state, it costs taxpayers $47,000 per year to keep inmates incarcerated in a California prison (less than yearly tuition at Princetown University) which stands in comparison to a probation cost of around $1200 a year and about $1500 a year to keep an offender out on parole. In the fiscal year of 2010, the Michigan Department of Corrections had $1. 2 billion in prison expenditures and more than seventy million in prison-related costs outside the department’s budget. A Michigan inmate will end up costing the state $28,117 for each year of incarceration (Price of Prisons). Obviously withstanding the offender themselves, the most important person in the parole supervision and reform process is the parole officer. Parole and probation supervision is a social-based job, rather than one rooted in information and data and often culminates in an end-result of satisfaction and rewards when a parole officer gets the opportunity to have a positive impact on the life of one of their parolees. In a news article published in New Hampshire News, reporter Chris Jensen follows parole/probation officer John Loven through an average day in his line of work. Loven starts the day out with a folder containing the files of all of the parolees to which he is assigned. His job is to make sure that the people in these files are living up to the conditions agreed upon that are listed upon the parolee’s assigned certificate of release, and in the cases where they are not, it is his duty to see to it that they’re either rewarded for their efforts or punished for their lack thereof. Loven says that most of his cases involve problems stemming back to alcohol and drugs, though there are the inevitable outliers to this too. Each probation or parolee,† Loven states, â€Å"is really an individual; they have individual problems and they each have individual needs. † (Day in the Life)† Loven’s job entails a daily commute of up to (and sometimes more than) two hundred miles. Most of his visits are unexpected; intended to catch the parolee in their natural environment living out an average day. Hoping to catch them i n the act, he often finds himself digging through their trash cans for evidence of recent drinking or drug use. One case special to Loven is that of a twenty year old recovering addict. Loven stops by her house regularly, checking up on her physical well-being, keeping track of what stage she is at in her recovery. Upon arrival, Loven finds the girl in a bad state. She appears visibly nervous, and is quite shaky and seemingly anxious and upset. At first Loven probes for any evidence of deviance from the court-ordered conditions but after a phone call informs the girl of family problems she breaks down in to tears. Loven works to console the girl, and that done, asks to look at her arms. She explains two bruising track marks as the areas from which she had her blood drawn for a recent medical procedure. Loven makes sure that she’s taking proper hygienic standards to keep herself in optimal shape. With a history of previously missed appointments, Loven then reminds her that she’ll have another meeting with him in two weeks time. After running through her schedule with him, he wishes her well and then heads back to his car to go about his day. With 96 cases that month, and nearly 110 the month before that, Loven keeps plenty busy. His visits take him to a variety of different environments filled with a variety of different people. Drug users, alcoholics, sex offenders, violent criminals and also everyday average American citizens; there are few limits drawn around Loven’s scope of duty. With a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and graduate’s degrees in community counseling and psychology; although he does mention a huge amount of paperwork, he says that when it comes down to it, his job is a delicate balance of counseling and investigation. He must reach a point where he’s not unapproachable to his parolees, but at the same time, doesn’t come across as a sucker that will fall for their lies and tricks. He must count on a sense of reason and logic to guide him through the day to day. â€Å"You get to know them, you get to know their families, their lifestyles and how they’re doing. † Though not for everyone, the role of parole officer/supervisor is a job that will prove both enriching and rewarding to the right kind of person who is ready to endure the hard work and dedication required to meet the demands of a job so important in modern-day society. All in all, parole is one of society’s stepping stones towards a brighter future. Though not a guarantee of success and not without the occasional flaw, parole still holds much greater promise than most of the alternatives. Through the hard work of officers, parole gives criminal offenders a chance at putting together the pieces of a normal life in the wake of a lengthy prison sentence. So long as both officer and parolee are willing to put in the time and effort towards improvement on a personal and community level, parole gives a reformed and well-intentioned offender the chance for a new start and a better life. Works Cited Alarid, Leanne Fiftal, and Carmen Rolando V. Del. â€Å"Probation. † Community-Based Corrections. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. 139-55. Print. â€Å"Crime Victims’ Rights Act. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. http://www. michigan. gov/corrections/0,4551,7-119-1384-5487–,00. html. â€Å"Crime Victims’ Rights Act. † Offices Of The United States Attorneys. United States Department of Justice, n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. http://www. justice. ov/usao/eousa/vr/crime_victims. html. Jensen, Chris. â€Å"A Day in the Life of a North Country Parole Officer. † New Hampshire News. NHPR, 23 May 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. http://nhpr. org/post/day-life-north-country-parole-officer. Marushack, Laura, and Erika Parks. â€Å"Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). † Bureau of Justice Statistics. N. p. , 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. Http://bjs. gov/index. cfm? ty=pbdetailiid=4538 Michigan Exec. Order N o. 2011-3, 3 C. F. R. (2011). Print. â€Å"Parole – Learning More. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. https://www. michigan. gov/corrections/0,4551,7-119-9741_12798-230397–,00. html. â€Å"Parole Conditions. † LegalMatch. Ed. Ken LeMance. N. p. , 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. http://www. legalmatch. com/law-library/article/parole-conditions. html. â€Å"The Parole Consideration Process. † Michigan Department of Corrections. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Parole Position How to cite Prison and Parole, Papers

The Second Meditation I Think Therefore I Am Essays - Ren Descartes

The Second Meditation: I Think Therefore I Am THE SECOND MEDITATION: I THINK THEREFORE I AM --------------------------------------------- The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt. --Ren? Descartes Le Discours de la M?thode, I In the First Meditation, Descartes invites us to think skeptically. He entices us with familiar occasions of error, such as how the size of a distant tower can be mistaken. Next, an even more profound reflection on how dreams and reality are indistinguishable provides suitable justification to abandon all that he previously perceived as being truth. (18, 19) By discarding all familiarity and assumptions, Descartes hopes to eliminate all possible errors in locating new foundations of knowledge. An inescapable consequence of doubting senses and prior beliefs is the introduction of the possibility that God is in fact a malicious deceiver, an all-powerful being capable of confounding the senses. (22) As the Second Meditation begins, Descartes again faces the inextricable shadows brought forth by the previous days thoughts. (24) He continues to disregard anything that admits the least doubt including all that is perceived by the senses since anything that is tainted with doubt might as well be considered totally false. (24) However, once an element of truth is discovered and verified, it can be used as a basis for establishing other elements of truth. The first element of truth that is known for certain is that nothing can be confidently known. Such a statement has a curious sort of circular nature: how can I know that nothing is certain, if nothing can be known for certain? The answer simply contains itself in the definition. By knowing that there is nothing for certain, Descartes must abandon all that is reported to him by his senses and believed by him in his thoughts (including his body and the conception of the world around him). (24) At this point, Descartes is not prepared to accept that either himself or God exists. He cannot say that God exists, because there remains the possibility that his thoughts are in fact originating from himself (in which case there would be no need for God). Since he has abandoned all notions of existence and certainty, which includes his own body and senses, is it possible that he himself does not exist? To think a thought is bound to existence by definition; one must exist first before having t he ability to think. Even if an all-powerful deceiver made it so that I do not exist, it would generate a contradiction since I cannot think that I exists if I dont. (25) Thinking about existing requires existence as a prerequisite. Descartes has arrived at his first truly tangible and useful element of truth: that it is necessarily true that he exists. The next task that Descartes must consider is to define what he is, and in doing so be careful not to make assumptions. He cannot consider himself to be an animal, since that would require a definition of what an animal is. Such an examination is beyond the discussion. (25) Instead of making random guesses, Descartes begins to think about what came to mind when he considered what he was. (25, 26) The first thought that occurs to him is that he has a body - something that by definition has a determinable shape, defined location and that can occupy space. However, if an all-powerful deceiver is at work, then that which he perceives as being his body might be something else altogether. Without a body, the attributes that would have naturally followed from its definition that he must be nourished, that he changes position and that he engages in sensory perception must all be discarded. (27) In a flash of inspiration, Descartes realizes that thinking is the quantity that is inseparable from existence. He will exist for as long as he is thinking, and for the duration of his existence, he will remain a thinking thing. Thinking is the ability to doubt, affirm, deign, act on will, and use imagination and sensory perceptions. When Descartes affirms that he exists, he recognizes that his existence cannot depend on anything that he could feign in [his] imagination. (28) The word

Conflicting Values In Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience

Conflicting Values In Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience Conflicting Values in Antigone In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Creon and Antigone have distinct conflicting values. Creon's regard for the laws of the city causes him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the laws set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral or religious, state otherwise. Antigone, on the other hand, hold the beliefs of the gods in high reverence. She feels that the laws of the gods should be obeyed above all others, especially when in respect to family. Creon has a very strong opinion about the laws of the city and the laws passed by him. His method of enforcing them is very strict. In "Antigone" Creon orders that Polyneices will not be buried because of his dishonor towards Thebes. Furthermore, if anyone is caught burying him they will be killed for disobeying his order. Polonieces is Antigone's brother. He is being punished because he attacked Thebes and betrayed Creon and the people of Thebes. Creon's harsh punishment on those who disobey the law makes many fear him and dare not to go against him. One example is Ismene's regard for Creon's laws. She tries to talk her sister out of burying her brother because of what could happen to her if Creon found out that she went against him. Ismene says "We must obey them.....I yield to those who have authority"(5). Not only do the people of Thebes obey the laws of the city because of their fear but because it is a shame to dishonor the king. To go against the kings claim and dishonor the law is to die a more shameful death then Antigone's mother and father(59-60). Antigone does not want to let her brother be left without a proper burial. Her belief is to show respect and love towards her brother she must bury him. Her beliefs in "The sacred laws that Heaven holds in honor" are far more important than those set by the king(Antigone 78). She feels that the king cannot override her belief in the gods. Antigone feels very strongly about burying her brother against Creon's orders. She refused to back down from her opinion even when confronted by the king and sentenced to death. Antigone reasoning is: "It was not Zeus who published this decree,Nor have the powers who rule among the dead Imposed such laws as this upon mankind; Nor could I think that a decree of yours- A man-could override the laws of Heaven Unwritten and unchanged"(450-455). She goes on to say that she does not want to go before the gods after she had disobeyed them because of a decree made by a mortal king(458-459). The loss of a brother is greater to Antigone then the lose of any other kind. She says, "For had I lost a son, or lost a husband, Never would I have ventured such an act Against the city's will. And wherefore so? My husband dead, I might have found another; Another son from him if I had lost A son. But since my mother and father Have both gone to the grave, there can be none Henceforth that I can ever call my brother"(907-914). To Antigone this is another reason to honor her brother; as she honors her brother she is honoring her mother and father as well. Creon, being a new king, wants to prove his abilities as king.He is being harsh, so the people of Thebes don't take him for an easy king and other problems arise. Creon feels that if someone dishonors the city in which he rules they must be punished. If Polyneices is not punished then Creon's power may be taken for granted by the people of Thebes. They would think of him as a weak king who can be dishonored without fear of punishment. Creon wants to be respected and feared as a king because this will give him more power. He does not want to be a bad king, using his power for evil things, but a strong king. However in order to be a strong king, one must be strict and firm in one's decisions. That is the kind of king that Creon is. Creon is a strong king

Grandfather Clauses and Their Impact on Voting Rights

Grandfather Clauses and Their Impact on Voting Rights Grandfather clauses were statutes that seven Southern states implemented in the 1890s and early 1900s to prevent African Americans from voting. The statutes allowed any person who had been granted the right to vote before 1867 to continue voting without needing to take literacy tests, own property, or pay poll taxes. The name â€Å"grandfather clause† comes from the fact that the statute also applied to the descendants of anyone who had been granted the right to vote before 1867. Since most African Americans were enslaved prior to the 1860s and did not have the right to vote, grandfather clauses prevented them from voting even after they had won their freedom from slavery. How the Grandfather Clause Disenfranchised Voters The 15th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1870. This amendment stated that the â€Å"right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.† In theory, this amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. However, black Americans had the right to vote in theory only. The Grandfather clause stripped them of their right to vote by requiring them to pay taxes, take literacy tests or constitutional quizzes, and overcome other barriers simply to cast a ballot. White Americans, on the other hand, could vote get around these requirements if they or their relatives had already had the right to vote prior to 1867- in other words, they were grandfathered in by the clause. Southern states such as Louisiana, the first to institute the statutes, enacted grandfather clauses even though they knew these statutes violated the U.S. Constitution, so they put a time limit on them in hopes that they could register white voters and disenfranchise black voters before the courts overturned the laws. Lawsuits can take years, and Southern lawmakers knew that most African Americans could not afford to file lawsuits related to grandfather clauses. Grandfather clauses weren’t just about racism. They were also about limiting the political power of African Americans, most of whom were loyal Republicans because of Abraham Lincoln. Most Southerners at the time were Democrats, later known as Dixiecrats, who had opposed Lincoln and the abolition of slavery. But grandfather clauses weren’t limited to Southern states and didn’t just target Black Americans. Northeast states like Massachusetts and Connecticut required voters to take literacy tests because they wanted to keep immigrants in the region from voting, since these newcomers tended to back Democrats during a time when the Northeast leaned Republican. Some of the South’s grandfather clauses may have even been based on a Massachusetts statute. The Supreme Court Weighs In: Guinn v. United States Thanks to the NAACP, the civil rights group established in 1909, Oklahomas grandfather clause faced a challenge in court. The organization urged a lawyer to fight the state’s grandfather clause, implemented in 1910. Oklahoma’s grandfather clause stated the following: â€Å"No person shall be registered as an elector of this state or be allowed to vote in any election held herein, unless he be able to read and write any section of the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma; but no person who was, on January 1, 1866, or any time prior thereto, entitled to vote under any form of government, or who at that time resided in some foreign nation, and no lineal descendant of such person, shall be denied the right to register and vote because of his inability to so read and write sections of such Constitution.† The clause gave white voters an unfair advantage, since the grandfathers of black voters had been enslaved prior to 1866 and were, thus, barred from voting. Moreover, enslaved African Americans were typically forbidden to read, and illiteracy remained a problem (both in the white and black communities) well after slavery was abolished. The U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously in the 1915 case Guinn v. United States that grandfather clauses in Oklahoma and Maryland violated the constitutional rights of African Americans. That’s because the 15th Amendment declared that U.S. citizens should have equal voting rights. The Supreme Court’s ruling meant that grandfather clauses in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia were also overturned. Despite the high court’s finding that grandfather clauses were unconstitutional, Oklahoma and other states continued to pass laws that made it impossible for African Americans to vote. The Oklahoma Legislature, for example, responded to the Supreme Court ruling by passing a new law that automatically registered the voters who’d been on the rolls when the grandfather clause was in effect. Anyone else, on the other hand, had only between April 30 and May 11, 1916, to sign up to vote or they would lose their voting rights forever. That Oklahoma law remained in effect until 1939 when the Supreme Court overturned it in Lane v. Wilson, finding that it infringed on the rights of voters outlined in the Constitution. Still, black voters throughout the South faced huge barriers when they tried to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Even if African Americans managed to pass a literacy test, pay a poll tax, or complete other hurdles, they could be punished for voting in other ways. After slavery, large numbers of blacks in the South worked for white farm owners as tenant farmers or sharecroppers in exchange for a small cut of the profits from the crops grown. They also tended to live on the land they farmed, so voting as a sharecropper could mean not only losing one’s job but also being forced out of one’s home if the landowner opposed black suffrage. In addition to potentially losing their employment and housing if they voted, African Americans who engaged in this civic duty could find themselves targets of white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. These groups terrorized black communities with night rides during which they would burn crosses on lawns, set homes alight, or force their way into black households to intimidate, brutalize, or lynch their targets. But courageous blacks exercised their right to vote, even if meant losing everything, including their lives. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated many of the barriers that black voters in the South encountered, such as poll taxes and literacy tests. The act also led to the federal government overseeing voter registration. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is credited with finally making the 15th Amendment a reality. Sources â€Å"Along the Color Line: Political,†Ã‚  The Crisis, volume 1, n. 1, November 11, 1910.Brenc, Willie. The Grandfather Clause (1898-1915). BlackPast.org. Greenblatt, Alan. â€Å"The Racial History Of The ‘Grandfather Clause.’† NPR 22 October, 2013.Keyssar, Alexander. The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. Basic Books, 2009. United States; Killian, Johnny H.; Costello, George; Thomas, Kenneth R. The Constitution of the United States of America:  Analysis and Interpretation : Analysis of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 28, 2002. Government Printing Office, 2004.

English Contract Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English Contract Law - Case Study Example Invoice sent by the company included the note which stated that the terms of the contract shall be adhered according to the original quotation. As per the original quotations Gordon has clearly specified that the servers with latest processors and maximum storage capacities are to be delivered within one month of the order and also sent the payment under the contract with the specific instruction that 'contracting under my specification'. Therefore the company is under an obligation to deliver within one month and since the delivery is not made within a month there is a clear violation of the contract. In addition there is the violation of the contract specifications as to the quality of the servers also. Since the company has sent servers which did not meet the requirements of Gordon with respect to energy sufficiency and without latest processors the company has made a second violation of the contract. The company Dodgy has fulfilled only the maximum storage capabilities requirements of the servers. The failure on the part of the company to supply the servers with the required specifications gives rise to different remedies under the contract law to Gordon. ... In this instance Gordon is entitled to the right of withdrawing from the contract since he has expressly made his desire to procure servers with energy efficiency and latest processors. Therefore these terms of specifications to the servers become the terms of prime importance to the contract and the failure to meet these terms entail the cancellation of contract by Gordon. In an alternative situation if Gordon has not made specific request for the supply of servers with energy efficiency and latest processors, he cannot repudiate the contract as there will be a case of breach of warranty only. The issue that Gordon has specified the requirements and Dodgy has not fulfilled them has resulted in a breach of the condition and therefore has altered the nature of the contract. In addition the contract would be treated as void as it is made by misrepresentation. Dodgy has made misrepresentation about its products to Gordon and Gordon has ordered the supply in utmost good faith. Since by the supply of servers not meeting the specifications Gordon has been misled by the company and Gordon therefore is entitled to treat the contract void. An additional point to consider here is that the misrepresentation by the company as regards the quality of the product is not an innocent misrepresentation but one made with the specific intention of making Gordon believe that. It is unlawful on the part of Dodgy to enter into a contract with Gordon for the goods which the company may not be able to supply at all. Even though there are mistakes committed by both the parties with regard to the terms of the contract, the contract needs to be terminated as there is no identity of minds ('consensus ad

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method of Lloyds TSB Bank Essay

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method of Lloyds TSB Bank - Essay Example The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method of Lloyds TSB Bank The objective of the paper is to describe about the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework in relation to its implementation in the Lloyds TSB Bank, headquartered in the UK. The reason for choosing the organisation is that the company uses balance scorecard method for calculating and managing the performance of employees (Lloyds TSB Group plc, 2012). The paper will also attempt to evaluate several aspects of BSC in relation to Lloyds with the purpose to recognise how the implementation of BSC would help to measure the performance of the bank. Also the paper will aim at identifying the different drawbacks relating to BSC. Stating precisely, the determined objectives of the paper are to recognise different aspects of BSC and the major Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of Lloyds. It will also aim to understand how implementation of BSC can prove to be beneficial for Lloyds along with identifying its probable limitations for the organisation which will further be used to provide recommendati ons. The research has been conducted in three phases, i.e. identification of research objectives, collection of data and analysis of the data collected. The method used for conducting the research has been based on a systematic approach. The research attempts to make a conclusion on a gradual procedure. Only secondary data i.e. information from internet sources such as company reports, books and academic journals have been used in this paper. In order to calculate and demonstrate the KPIs’ of Lloyds TSB Bank, MS-Excel application has been used. It is in this context that BSC’s four perspectives, i.e. customer perspective, financial perspective, internal business processes as well as learning and growth perspective and their related KPIs (two from each) will be examined through MS-Excel application. The excel graphs will be produced and demonstrated in order to justify the discussion of KPI. Results or Findings Balance Scorecard and Its Perspectives Generally, organisations u se BSC to embrace information regarding monetary measures. In Lloyds, BSC can provide a lucid picture about the performance. It can provide the key factors which drive the performance in the organisation. It is worth mentioning in this regard that there are four general perspectives of BSC which are measured by an organisation while judging the performance (Mooraj & et. al., 1999). The following figure will describe the four perspective of BSC: Financial Perspective: The financial perspective represents long-term objectives of an organisation. The KPIs of financial perspectives are: Sales quantity: It aims at measuring the amount of sales; for example, by taking account of the changes in sales revenue over time Market share: It aims at measuring the market competency. For example, by comparing the market exposure of the competitors and that of the organisation Return on investment: It aims at proper allocation of resources. For example, by rendering an in-depth understanding to the most profitable sectors