Prison Term Policy Recommendation Essay Example for Free

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Essay The legal definition of armed robbery, according to The Free Dictionary by Farlex is The taking of money or goods in the possession of another, from his or her person or immediate presence, by force or intimidation. (Free Dictionary, 2009) This is not to be confused with larceny. An armed robbery is defined when a person is made to feel fear or harm and then has personal property stolen. Larceny is a person who hasIt is the responsibility for members of the state legislature to thoroughly research whether a bill to double the maximum prison term for any person convicted of armed robbery will be an effective deterrent to future crimes. The data compiled will present the positive and negative aspects of the proposed bill. Therefore, the criminologist advisor will compile a study of the current laws, consequences, and data necessary to make a recommendation. This author will be the criminologist advisor for the New Jersey state legislature member. As the states advisor, this author will present the prison term policy as it stands for armed robbery and the authors recommendation for the change; included will be the incorporation of the Three-Strikes Law to aid in the punishment stage. In the state of New Jersey, the sentence for first degree armed robbery is 25 years in prison. Each armed robbery conviction carries maximum statutory prison sentence of 25 years. (2006) Pursuant to state law, the convict must serve a minimum of 85 percent of their sentence. For a 25 year sentence, this would be 21.25 years. This author feels that if the convicted criminal has no regard for their victim, they should serve their term behind bars. In reality, if a person the age of 40 was sentenced to a term of 25 years, they would be 65 when they were released, if made to serve the entire term. However, if the same 40 year old person was sentenced to a term that had been doubled to 50 years, they would be 90 years old upon release, if they lived to that age. This would mean that tax payers would be forced to pay for this person to be in an already overcrowded prison for the remainder of their life. Most people are not going to want to do this, unless of course the crime led to a death in which case the criminal deserves to be in jail for the remainder of  their life. There is another point of view to consider when thinking about this type of crime. That would be the people who support a change in the laws to double the sentence of a convicted armed robber. If the sentence is 40 years normally and then doubled, it is safe to assume that the person will never see freedom again. In that case, there will be one less dangerous person on the streets who will be able to go out and commit another robbery, and possibly worse. Three Strikes LawThe Three Strikes Law was originally passed in 1993. In the state of New Jersey, the bill was approved May 13, 1994. In fact, the bill was approved in a 35 0 vote. They were slightly behind on passing this bill but it is a good protection for citizens to have. The crimes the bill covers are murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery and possession of a firearm, explosive or destructive device for an unlawful purpose. (New York Time, 1994) The definition is life in prison for committing three violent crimes, such as murder, manslaughter or robbery. (Three strikes case, 2007) This is a great idea to keep repeat offenders locked up and off the streets. It is a shame though, that a person has to keep committing crimes in order to be locked up permanently. In the case of someone committing armed robbery, there should not be a question of the punishment they deserve to get. When it is proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the person absolutely committed the crime they are accused of, they need to be punished accordingly. Then of course, when that said person gets released and goes out and commits more crimes, they do not deserve a break. When they go into a residence or business with a weapon, whether it is a gun, knife, pepper spray or something else, it is their intention to use force to get what they want. They intentionally want to scare the person or people they are going to rob, and if necessary, they will use physical force which can result in severe injury or even death. This author is a supporter of the Three Strikes Law. She believes that people who do not want to follow the laws and try to make up their own deserve to be punished. She feels that each person has a right to feel safe in their  own home or place of business and when someone comes in and tries to take away that feeling of safety, it can affect that persons life. In the beginning of this paper, it was mentioned that there will be people who do not agree that they should be responsible to pay for a criminal to spend the rest of their life behind bars. The criminal will get a warm place to sleep, three meals a day, exercise, television, education and possibly work duty. The possibility of armed robbers getting double the amount of time to spend in prison is good, but it may not always be a deterrent to other people who are thinking of committing that same crime, or who are currently career criminals. If a person is homeless and is robbing people by force to survive, it is quite possible that they know if they are caught, they will have a place to sleep out of the cold and rain or any other extreme weather. They will also know that they will get meals, which they may not get while living on the streets. It is the opinion of this author that while this law may deter some people from committing crimes, it will not deter everyone. Many criminals have the mindset that they are good at what they do and they will not get caught. Those are famous last words. No matter how good the person is at their crime, they will almost always be caught, regardless of the time line that passes between when they started their career and when they are finally brought to ju stice. Some other issues that had been mentioned when New Jersey was first trying to pass the Three Strikes Law was the cost involved not only with repeat offenders going through a trial and then being jailed again, but also the cost of actually keeping them in prison. The other issue mentioned was the fact that the prisons are already bursting at the seams with inmates so the former Governor Christine T. Whitman wanted to make sure this bill would only apply to the most violent of crimes. (New York Times, 1994) The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) houses approximately inmates in minimum, medium and maximum state prisons. The annual cost to house each inmate in 2006 was approximately $38,700 per year. This is more than many people make in a year. There were about 14,000 people incarcerated into the NJDOC in 2006 and that number was expected to rise by 1180 in 2007. In 2006, 14,000 inmates were released and it was expected that 1,180 would be  released each month in 2007. The median term for NJDOC inmates is five years. Fifty percent of all NJDOC inmates are serving terms of one-to-five years; 16 percent are serving terms of six-to-nine years; and 34 percent are serving maximum sentences of 10 years or more. (Department of Corrections)After a thorough review of all the information given in this paper, it is the recommendation of this author that the laws surrounding the violent crime of armed robbery be changed to doubling when convicted of the offense. A statement needs to be made to criminals that the State of New Jersey will not condone violent criminal offenders and will punish them to the fullest extent of the law. These offenders should know that no matter where they go or what they do, their crimes will not go unnoticed and they will be caught and prosecuted. In closing, it is the hope of the author that all members of the State of New Jersey legislation will regard the seriousness of the crime of armed robbery and will take into consideration the information that has been presented and vote in favor of passing this law along side of the passing of the bill of the Three Strikes Law. References Career Criminal Bank Robber Gets 90 Years in Federal Prison (2006) retrieved on March 22, 2009 from http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/press/files/giub1002_r.htmThe Free Dictionary by Farlex (2009) retrieved on March 22, 2009 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/armed+robberyCoscarelli, K. (25 October, 2007) NJ top court to decide three strikes case retrieved on March 22, 2009 from http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/10/nj_top_court_to_decide_three_s.htmlGray, J. (Ed.). (1994). New Jersey Senate Approves Bill To Jail 3-Time Criminals for Life. New York: The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/13/us/new-jersey-senate-approves-bill-to-jail-3-time-criminals-for-life.html?sec=spon=pagewanted=1New Jersey Department of Corrections (1999 2009) retrieved on March 23, 2009 from http://www.nj.gov/corrections/freqntlyasked.html

An inspector calls Essay Example for Free

An inspector calls Essay After reading an Inspector calls, I am certain it is obvious to any one who reads it that the inspector is not what he appears to be at all. At first you have no suspicions of the Inspector, but as the play moves on it slowly dawns on you that the Inspector might be an impostor. The inspector also has major impacts on some of the characters. He is Priestleys vehicle for his views on social responsibility. He represents social conscience. He has moral dimension. The Inspectors name, Goole, has noteworthy significance. Ghoul has the same sound and its meaning has a great bearing on the play. A Ghoul is an evil spirit To Birling, and his upper class peers; this is an exact analysis of the Inspector. The thought of the Inspector being something extraordinary seems to be briefly confronted by Sheila but it is dismissed just as quickly. Another theory might be that the Inspector represents truth and is not a real person at all but just a representative of justice. I think that this is a very plausible idea and probably Priestleys own thought. He could be a spirit representing the future, the Birlings chance of repent, although only Eric and Sheila recognize this. They are the only ones to realise that they have ruined this girls life and it could be their doings that sent her to this horrible end. The Inspector could also be as real as all the other characters in body and can eat and drink and is solid. I think that the inspector may have gone back in time or there might have been a time slip of some sort to make sure that these people new what they had done. I think there is a possibility that the Inspector could be Eva Smith and just goes back to haunt them. This maybe quite far fetched by I would not rule it out completely, because if it were true then it would explain everything. The main role of the inspector is his forcing role, which he uses to overpower the other characters to admit to their secrets. He appears to the characters to be very rude at times, but this rudeness only adds to the factor at which he can interrogate the characters, and also provokes them admit to their wrongdoings, I know. I had her turned out of a job. I started it. Some characters take longer to acknowledge their secrets than others. They try to hide, but cannot escape from the inspector. For example Mr. Birling, a very stubborn man, who, even when he confesses to his  concealment, believes that it has nothing to do with the death, and believes that he has nothing to do with it at all. Other characters like Sheila and Eric admit and dont try to hide it, and know that they had added to the tragic death of Eva Smith. They know that the inspector is right, and if they hadnt done what they did, then Eva Smith would still be alive. Sheila in particular is very guilty and gets very emotional. The inspector has trouble with getting them all to admit themselves, Inspector, Ive told you before, I dont like your tone.I dont propose to give you much more rope however he knows they had something to do with it, and he knew exactly what that was as well. This may have helped him. The inspector makes his views on social responsibility clear. He believes that we are all responsible for one another and should act together as a community, helping those of us who are less fortunate. Ironically, Mr Birling has the opposite view to the inspector. When the inspector arrives he is discussing business with Gerald and says that he thinks you are responsible for yourself and your family only. Mr Birling is absolutely against the idea of communism. Priestley expresses his views on communism through the inspector demonstrating to the reader how important it is to care for others in your community. In conclusion I think that the Inspector is as real as every one else in the play but I think that he represents justice or truth and is a form of angel or something along those lines. The play can only be understood after it is closely reviewed. I am sure that there will always be a sense of mystery about this play; who was the inspector? What was the Inspector? Will we ever know? His role in the play is forcing to discover the characters terrible secrets and leave them with a lasting impression as well as a lot to think about. Priestley has very strong views on social responsibility which are expressed through the inspector.

Capital Punishment | Should Capital Punishment be Abolished?

Capital Punishment | Should Capital Punishment be Abolished? Death sentence being one of the harshest punishments known to man has taken a gradual humanized change over the years. Being a mode of punishment prominently followed in most parts of the world has now been abolished in many countries because of a wave of abolishment initiated a few decades back. India seems to be stuck between the global trend to end death penalty and the nations that is still follow. It has taken a very safe ground by giving a minimal provision and leaving it to the discretion of the judiciary to award the punishment in special circumstances. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether capital punishment should be banned or not? While considering the historical as well as present scenario of capital punishment and comparing with other countries where it has been abolished. Introduction Capital punishment is the practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a proper legal trial. It is usually only used as a punishment for particularly serious types of murder, but in some countries treason, types of fraud, adultery and rape are capital crimes.  [1]  In Indian the traditional way of awarding this punishment is handing by the neck till the death of the criminal. In other countries, shooting, electric chair, etc,are the various devices used for the purpose. The term capital originates from capitalis, literally regarding the head (Latin caput). Hence, a capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.  [2]   Amongst democratic countries today, it is rare to find capital punishment being practiced. In fact, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. are the only ones who still have the death penalty. However, it is mainly found in poor, undemocratic and authoritarian states that the death penalty is still being used, and usually as a means of political oppression. The European Union and the Council of Europe refuses its member states to practice the death penalty, or at least desire them to show that they no longer actively practice it (i.e. a moratorium). Although the United States had suspended executions in 1973, they resumed them in 1977. However, not all the states perform capital punishment, with at least 12 of them having banned it at the time of writing? Most of the countries except China, a few countries in South Africa and Belarus in Europe, have moved towards abolishing death penalty  [3]  . Though being a member of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which is adopted by the United Nations and stands to bring countries to abolish death penalty, India has not taken this important step to abolish such a grave punishment. Capital punishment is nothing but judicial murder, it is said, especially when an innocent life is destroyed. Besides this, capital punishment, as is generally supposed, is not deterrent. Murders and other heinous crimes have continued unabated, in spite of it. The result of such views has been that in recent years there has been an increasing tendency in western countries to award life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. Muslims countries, to be more serve in this respect. Despite frequent demands from all society Indian has not so far abolished capital punishment. But even in India there has been a decline in the frequency of such punishment. It is now awarded only in cases of hardened criminals and only when it is established that the murder was not the result of a momentary impulse, the result of serious provocation, but well-planned and cold-blooded. In such cases, it is felt that nothing else than capital punishment would be executed for that crime. Those who indulge in anti-social and sternest possible measures should be taken against them, specially when they are habitual offenders. India has not so far abolished capital punishment but used it more judiciously. Sociologists are of the view that capital punishment serves no useful purpose. By sending the criminals to gallows, we in no way help or provide relief to the family of the murdered. The sociologists, therefore, suggest that the murderer should be sentenced for life to work and support the family of murdered person as well as his own. In this way, innocent women and children would be saved from much suffering, hunger and starvation.  [4]   Philosophers view on capital punishment According, to Kants view no state can exist if there is no law and if there is no law then there is no society and no state. Therefore legislation of law is necessary. Therefore by Kants view if a person has violated such laws by doing a crime then a person who has violated such law must be punished. According to Kant punishment is a legal act that definitely has a certain basis. This basis is a crime. If there is no crime there must be no punishment. Punishment of innocent people is a result of a worthless legislation; this means that the legal system is unable to establish guilt and make a differentiation between innocent people and criminals.  [5]  Kants opinion towards death penalty is justified only if there is a murder. According to him if there is a murder then he must die. Theory of punishment:- by both H.L.A Hart and (1959) in England and John Rawls (1955) in the United States. Defining the concept of punishment must be kept distinct from justifying punishment. A definition of punishment is, or ought to be, value-neutral, at least to the extent of not incorporating any norms or principles that surreptitiously tend to justify whatever falls under the definition itself. To put this another way, punishment is not supposed to be justified, or even partly justified, by packing its definition in a manner that virtually guarantees that whatever counts as punishment is automatically justified. (Conversely, its definition ought not to preclude its justification.)  [6]   Historical Background Capital punishment is regarded as one of the severest form of punishment in the history of mankind. During the medieval era, capital punishment was sentenced even for extremely trivial and inconsequential matter or in other words we can say that they were executed for minor crimes such as stealing, cheating or even trespassing. Also, the methods of administering death penalty were immensely harsh and gruesome. Most historical records and various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. This was the only method for them to provide justice for every crime done by a person. However, during medieval times the capital punishment was rather insensitive. The punishment which was given to the accused cant be compare to the act which has been done by accused. One of the oldest methods of practicing capital punishment was hanging. This method was originated from Persia and was restricted only for male criminals. The method was considered to be comparatively less harsh as it was relatively simpler with no involvement of blood. This form of punishment is prevalent to date in countries such as Singapore, Japan, India, Pakistan and three states in US.  [7]   In the earlier time death penalty laws can be found in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon (18th century BCE), in which death penalty was given for different crimes. But in the Draconian Code of Athens (7th century BCE), times where every crime was punishable by death and was the most extreme capital systems in ancient times. Later on under Roman law in the 5th century BCE, a person could even be sentenced to death for simply writing an insulting song  [8]  . The Romans also used it for a wide range of offenses, though citizens were exempted for a short time during the republic. It also has been sanctioned at one time or another by most of the worlds major religions. In medieval and early modern Europe the death penalty was largely used as a generalized form of punishment, and often accompanied by torture. Similarly, in medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, the death penalty was also used as a generalised form of punishment. For example, in 1700s Britain there were 222 crimes which were punishable by death, including crimes such as cutting down a tree or stealing an animal.  [9]  Thanks to the notorious Bloody Code, 18th century (and early 19th century) Britain was a hazardous place to live. For example, Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at Kings Lynn on Wednesday, September 28, 1708 for theft. The local press did not, however, consider the executions of two children newsworthy.  [10]   Present scenario But the time has changed now, the judiciary in most countries has adopted a more civilized attitude towards this punishment and death penalty is reserved for extremely heinous crimes. Three quarters of executions worldwide occur in Asia. 95% of Asians live in jurisdictions that carry out capital punishment. China alone accounts for 90% of all executions in Asia. The country executed approximately 5000 people in 2008. Thats a rate per capita dozens of times higher than in the U.S., and yet its a steep drop for the numbers of some decades earlier. India is also retentionist (meaning the opposite of abolitionist) but only executed one person in the first decade of the new millennium. Singapore used to kill a similar proportion of its citizens as China, but the rate has dropped recently. Japan, on the contrary, is executing more and more people. Saudi Arabia is known for its particularly gruesome methods  [11]   We can see from the above graph there is lot of change in figures earlier only death penalty was sentenced as compared to medieval times. Pakistan , U.S. and China are at the highest peak. Pakistan and china are the main contributors in increasing the percentage of death penalty in Asia. The most recent executions in South Korea took place in December 1997, when 23 people were executed at short notice on the same day. Similarly, nineteen executions occurred in 1995 and 15 in 1994, in each instance occurring all on the same day. No executions have occurred since 1998, but this de facto suspension has not been reinforced by law. Since 1999, lawmakers have thrice endorsed a bill favoring life imprisonment without parole in place of the death penalty, but each time the proposal has stalled and failed to move forward. The need remains to develop a culturally appropriate pro-abolition argument that could persuade the Korean public that the death penalty is unworkable and wrong. On 21 January 2007, in the Inhyeokdang case, the Korean Court acquitted 8 persons who had been executed 32 years earlier. The hope is that, in light of strong arguments based on the risk to innocent persons and the irreversibility of capital punishment, Korea will effectively transition from de fact o to formal abolition. Capital Punishment should be banned or not? Most of the people now feel that punishment for crimes like murders should not be death but some re formative or deterrent sentence. Death sentence cannot reform a criminal since once dead he cannot be reformed. The governments, which have abolished death sentence, find that there is no increase in the number of murders in the countries after the abolition. Some social reformers still feel that life imprisonment is a more severe kind of punishment. However, capital punishment puts an end to the criminals life, life imprisonment forces him to spend his whole life within the boundaries of a prison. Over 37 countries have already abolished the death sentence and the after-effects of it have not been harmful. India, which is the birthplace of great luminaries, should also abolish death sentence and replace it with some other kind of punishment, which aims to abolish crime, not merely kill criminals.  [12]   In India, capital punishment is granted for different crimes, counting murder, initiating a childs suicide, instigating war against the government, acts of terrorism, or a second evidence for drug trafficking. Death penalty is officially permitted though it should be used in the rarest of rare cases as per the judgement of Supreme Court of India. Amongst the retentionist countries around the world, India has the lowest execution rate with just 55 people executed since independence in 1947.  [13]   In the case of Bachan Singh v State of Punjab  [14]  , wherein a Constitutional Bench with a 4:1 majority upheld the constitutional validity of death penalty and the scope of the provision which enabled the imposition of death penalty. Justice Bhagwati took a dissenting opinion and held that the death sentence is unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. laws which are to be used to avoid and prevent people from committing such offences and not to take the life a person using the same laws. The State has no right to take the life of a person. India according to me should abolish death sentence. Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution provides for Right to equality before law and protection of life and personal liberty respectively. Article 14 states, The state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India  [15]  . And Article 21 states, No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law  [16]  . If a procedure of law itself takes a life of a person, who is to be blamed, and who should be punished for it? Is it fair to kill a person? If not, what is the difference between a murderer and the society who takes the life of a murderer by sentencing him to death? In a landmark case of Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab  [17]  , a panel of four judges of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of death penalty but Justice Bhagwati differed in his opinion. The four judge panel led by Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud suggested a set of guidelines for determining the aggravating circumstances which would warrant the imposition of death penalty and other mitigating circumstances for awarding the lesser punishment of imprisonment for life. Further, the Supreme Court held that the aggravating circumstances which result in special reasons as per the Criminal Procedure Code must be considered to be sentenced to death. And finally held that death sentence should be imposed only in Rarest of Rare cases. The death sentence as a punishment can also have a deterrent effect against the potential murderers. But J. Bhagwati argues that death sentence will have a greater deterrent effect as opposed to the life sentence. J. Bhagwati enriches the court with various scholars over the world who would agree with his opinion and this very opinion has favored the abolition of death penalty in their countries. He says it is not a rational conviction but merely an unreasoned belief which is entertained by some people including a few penologists, judges, jurists and legislators that death penalty has a uniquely deterrent effect  [18]  . Reference was also made to the Fifty Fourth Law Commission report  [19]  which also took a view that death sentence acts as a deterrent. It says that every human being dreads death suggesting that death sentence had a greater deterrent effect than other punishments. As the punishment is more deterrent than others it becomes arbitrary and unreasonable and viol ates article 14 ad 21 of the Constitution. Therefore it should be not be completely abolished. Hence, it should be executed only in rarest of rare cases. Conclusion Death penalty is the harshest of punishments provided in the IPC, which involves the judicial killing or taking the life of the accused as a form of punishment  [20]  . It is a mode of punishment which extinguishes the life of an accused. In India, death sentence has gone through a number of changes but still remains as the harshest punishment. It is the punishment for murdering another human being. It is true that killing someone is cruel, but it is also not reasonable for a society to kill someone. The only difference between these is that the accused in a murder case is punished by the society but there is no one to punish the society. The rule of law is set up to protect and regulate both the society as well as the people in the society. In conclusion, I feel that death penalty should be completely abolished. Though I am also morally against death penalty this analysis has made my views even stronger. But it should be executed only in the rarest of rare case like there is nothing else left instead of capital punishment for giving justice to someone. The views suggested by philosophers also suggest the same meaning that it should be executed only in the case of murder or we can say that in the rarest of rare cases.

Loss of Innocence in Frankenstein :: Frankenstein essays

Loss of Innocence in Frankenstein In the novel "Frankenstein," Victor Frankenstein is the creator of a "monster." Because of his thirst for knowledge, he goes too far and creates a huge monster, which he immediately rejects. This rejection plays a major part in the monster's hatred for humans. The author, Mary Shelley, supports the theme, loss of innocence, through plot, setting and characterization. This paper will explain the many ways that the characters lost their innocence throughout the novel. The plot deals with the conflict that is inside Victor Frankenstein, who produces a monstrous creature. Victor is disgusted at the site of the creature he has created. "I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived"(43). After Victor rejects the monster, he meets a family that brings out his sensitive side. When these people reject him, the creature destroys everything in sight. "I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a staglike swiftness"(121). The innocent Justine is accused of a murder, committed by the creature, and dies, therefore increasing Victor's feelings of guilt and his need for revenge. Victor makes it his mission to destroy the monster, who has been ruining his life. The monster threatens to be there with Victor on his wedding night. Vic tor interprets this as a threat against his own life, but instead finds his wife, Elizabeth, murdered. "She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair"(179). The next paragraph discusses how loss of innocence was portrayed through setting. When Victor is seventeen, he leaves for the University of Ingolstadt, where he spends six years. He creates the monster in an old deserted house in this city. It is when he rejects the monster that he begins to lose innocence. "I did not dare return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky"(44).

Societal Needs:Diversity and Equity Essay -- essays papers

Societal Needs:Diversity and Equity The purpose of this paper is to examine diversity and equity issues regarding education. More specifically, this research paper will take an in-depth view of affirmative action and its policies. A non biased view was enacted to present the pros, cons, and hotly debated issues regarding affirmative action at the university level. Additionally, the paper will examine the validity and possible biases in alternatives to affirmative action that have recently been issued. Simply stated, affirmative action is an active commitment to enhance employment and educational opportunities for minorities and women. Affirmative action’s origins stem back to the 1960s when the government began to progressively take steps in redressing decades of racial discrimination against blacks (â€Å"affirmative action†). Women and minorities, mostly Hispanic and Native Americans, subsequently were covered in this new remedy. Affirmative action forced private as well as public institutions of higher education to alter their traditional ways regarding the recruitment and admission of students (Lowe 13). Colleges and universities developed organized methods to help attract black students. Increased representation of black students on campus now became a commitment at all schools. Admission and financial aid were altered to help eliminate existing barriers to access. As a result, numerous minorities who previously may not have been admitted to institutions of higher learning were now being accepted in increasing numbers (Fullinwider). This new commitment and responsibility of institutions, however, was not welcomed by everyone. At what cost would universities go to wh... ... â€Å"Universities Need to Take A Stand and Defend Affirmative Action.† Black Issues in Higher Education 17.4 (2000): p42 Lowe, Edward, Jr. (1999). Promise and Dilemma. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. McClafferty, K. â€Å"Challenges of the New Sociology of Urban Education.† Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000. 3-15 Pg. 9 Miller, Geralda. â€Å"Study: Racial Prejudice is Reason For Affirmative Action Resistance† Black Issues in Higher Education 17.2 (2000): p14. Plous, S. (2003). Ten Myths about Affirmative Action. In S. Plous (Ed.), Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination (pp.206-212). New York: McGraw-Hill. Symonds, William C. â€Å"College Admissions: The Real Barrier Is Class.† Business Week 3828 (2003): p66. Zwick, Rebecca. â€Å"Eliminating Standardized Tests in College Admissions.† Phi Delta Kappan (1999): 320-325.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics: China Pushes Towards Modernization Essays

The 2008 Beijing Olympics: China Pushes Towards Modernization The Olympics are always used as a way for the host city to put on a display of its culture and show the world its myriad social and economical triumphs. The host country can, in just a couple weeks, show the world what a wonderful place it is. The Olympics have in the past been able to prompt a world awareness of the host country and create a lingering legacy. Beijing will attempt to do all these things, but the stakes will be much higher. China is the most populous country in the world and at the center of many global issues. With its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China made a big step in accepting the challenge from other world powers to open up its markets, address human rights, and transform itself from a developing country to a modern world power. With its official Olympic Action Plan, Beijing has made it its mission to directly address these issues with its emphasis on the concepts of â€Å"Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, and Peopleâ€℠¢s Olympics.† Indeed, Beijing is maneuvering itself into position to use its fifteen minutes at the center of the world stage to put on quite a show. At the same time, Beijing can use the opportunity of putting on the Games to better its economic position in the world. China’s economic growth has been strong due to foreign investment in Chinese manufacturing. The trend will continue. Foreign investment for the Games will stimulate growth while Chinese manufacturers will be able to exploit the new export market for Olympic goods. At the same time, China hopes to boost its position in making its own high tech developments to go along with its already strong manufacturing sector. While change in C... ...ent Strategy: Issues and Prospects. Japan: Institute of Developing Economies, 2001. Phillips, Richard. â€Å"Big Business Demands a Corporate Olympics.† 16 March 1999. World Socialist Web Site. 1 June 2003 . Studwell, Joe. The China Dream: The Elusive Quest for the Greatest Untapped Market on Earth. London: Profile Books , 2002. Tseng, Wanda, and Markus Rodlauer, eds. China: Competing in the Global Economy. Washington D.C. : Interational Monetary Fund, 2003. US Commerical Service. â€Å"Beijing 2008 Olympics.† 2003. 1 June 2003 . â€Å"US textile quota plan critized.† Xinhua Economic News Service [Beijing] 25 April 2003. Webber, Michael, Mark Wang, and Zhu Ying, eds. China’s Transition to a Global Economy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Health Care Delivery Systems Essay

Healthcare delivery systems refer to the organization of resources, institutions, and people intended to provide healthcare services to particular populations. Health systems vary substantially across the world. In fact, the organizational structures and history is unique in each country. Some states have distributed health system planning amongst market stakeholders. On the contrary, other countries have concentrated energy among religious organizations, governments, trade unions and other united institutions to provide organized health care services customized to target populations. The objective of this essay is comparing similarities and differences between various international health care systems across the globe. One of the major health care delivery programs in the United States includes group health insurance plans. The health system emerged during World War II. The employers began offering employee benefits in the form of affordable healthcare services to attract the limite d labor supply. Since then, many healthcare reforms implemented in the United States from the 1970s has enhanced this philosophy (Yih, 2010). Currently, US has over 1200 insurance companies that give group health insurance programs. The objective of group insurance plans is providing employees with affordable, high quality and efficient healthcare services (Cooper & Taylor, 1994). The Medicare program is another healthcare delivery system intended for retirees above sixty-five years. The service differs from group health insurance plan in that the beneficiaries are unemployed, and the government pays for the individuals’ treatment cost. For younger and poorer American citizens below sixty-five years, the government has established Medicaid healthcare delivery system to offer free medical services. Eligible candidates for the Medicaid program include poor individuals that cannot afford the service and  non-beneficiaries of subsidized healthcare systems such as the group insurance (Cooper & Taylor, 1994). In addition to these methods, the US has a variety of other healthcare systems intended for the uninsured. The p rograms include the Veterans Administration, military and Native Americans among others. These programs are extremely complex since they have varied the reimbursement, underwriting, benefit and eligibility (McCarthy & Schafermeyer, 2007). Canada uses a healthcare delivery program called â€Å"Single payer system.† The intention of establishing the system is ensuring healthcare equality among all the citizens. The coverage of the plan is universal and comprehensive. The provincial governments provide funds for the compulsory medical care using tax money (McCarthy & Schafermeyer, 2007). However, the federal government contributes and controls some of the money the provincial administrations contribute to the citizens’ healthcare plans. Patients are independent to choose their preferred healthcare provider. Majority of the physicians in Canada have private practices that they charge a fee based on services they provide. Many hospitals are not-for-profit institutions that are managed by trustee boards. The modern healthcare delivery system in Canada began in Sa skatchewan in the 1950s and then spread to the entire nation by 1966 (Baribault & Cloyd, 1999). Japan provides medical services to every citizen using employer-financed insurance plan. The aim of using employer-based program is controlling the cost of healthcare expenses. The result of the plan is a substantially healthy nation at one of the most affordable healthcare cost in the world (Yih, 2010). The country has a variety of insurance programs that are funded using various obligatory deductions, patient co-payments, and taxes. Patients have the liberty of choosing their preferred healthcare providers (McCarthy & Schafermeyer, 2007). On the other hand, healthcare delivery providers are compensated using a national rate and formula negotiated by a panel composed of citizens, insurers, and providers. The government has set a price limit to control price increase of policies at a given time. The main benefit of the restricted policy price is equitable access and affordable healthcare program (Baribault & Cloyd, 1999). Japan established its present healthcare program in 1922 as the government believed that a healthy nation was necessary to maintain the nation productive and affluent. Initially, Japan intended the program to serve manual laborers, but the country amended its  constitution after World War II to make the program compulsory to everyone (Cooper & Taylor, 1994). American healthcare delivery system differs from that in Canada and Japan in that the government has not set healthcare systems’ price limit. As a result, the healthcare cost varies from one provider to the other. The economic law of demand and supply also determines the cost of healthcare services, which makes American medical care programs among the most expensive in the world. In the United States, several doctors are directly employed in public hospitals while many healthcare professionals in Canada have private practices (Baribault & Cloyd, 1999). On the contrary, health care delivery systems in Japan, Canada, and the USA have similarities such as liberty to choose from several healthcare providers. In addition, insurance programs play an essential role in providing affordable healthcare plans to every citizen. Each country also offers fully sponsored or subsidized healthcare services to the extremely poor, army veterans and other specialized group that may not afford to make regular contributions towards the healthcare services (Baribault & Cloyd, 1999). Employers are supposed to deduct some cash from their employees’ salary, and provide either a hundred or two hundred percent match to the deduction, to pay for healthcare insurance (Cooper & Taylor, 1994). In my view, I would recommend sickness fund healthcare system as it has proven functional in countries such as Germany. Germany’s trade guilds established the initial health system in 1883 that the government applied as a model to create the country’s â€Å"sickness funds†. The objective of the system is financing, paying and providing healthcare services. It integrates decision-making and decentralized power with efficient bargaining power that occurs at local, federal and state levels. Germans have solidarity and believe that everyone is entitled to access quality medical services irrespective of their capability to pay, income or employment. Similarly, if other countries in the world can adopt such a healthcare system, everybody would have access to q uality healthcare services. Patients covered by the program can access affordable health care services universally (Cooper & Taylor, 1994). Some of the services that sickness fund covers include drugs and dental care services. It also provides young mothers’ grants, money for purchasing eyeglasses and compensation wages when individuals are sick. Since sickness funds do not offer healthcare coverage for some issues,  individuals can purchase health insurance plans for the uncovered services. Everybody in Germany is supposed to be a member of a sickness fund, except the wealthy persons that can afford private health insurance. I believe the world’s population would have access to quality health care services required for maintaining healthy nations (Baribault & Cloyd, 1999). References Cooper E. & Taylor L. (1994). Comparing Health Care Systems: What makes sense for the US? Context Institute. Web, retrieved on January 18, 2015 from http://www.context.org/iclib/ic39/cooptalr/ Baribault, M. & Cloyd, C. (1999). Health Care Systems: Three International Comparisons. Ethics of Development in Global Environment. McCarthy, R. L., & Schafermeyer, K. W. (2007). Introduction to health care delivery: A primer for pharmacists. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett. Yih, Y. (2010). Handbook of Healthcare Delivery Systems. CRC Press.