The Unabomber

The Unabomber For 17 years, an elusive criminal sent homemade bombs that targeted universities, airlines and computer stores, killing three people and injuring 23 others. The FBI branded Theodore Kaczynski a domestic terrorist, with the nickname the â€Å"Unabomber† (Unabomber). Theodore â€Å"Ted† Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois, where, as a child prodigy, he excelled academically. He was accepted into Harvard University at the age of 16, where he graduated from four years later and then earned a PhD in mathematics several years after that.He then accepted a position at The University of California, Berkley campus as an assistant professor at the age of 25 (Unabomber). After two years at Berkley, Kaczynski seemed to have lost interest in everything around him. He quit his job and moved to an isolated cabin, without electricity or running water, in Lincoln, Montana. He wanted to learn survival skills in an attempt to become self-sufficient (Kaczynski). After wit nessing the wilderness and environment around him get destroyed by industrial development, Kaczynski decided to start a bombing campaign (Kaczynski).From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski sent sixteen bombs to targets, including universities and airlines (Unabomber). The first mail bomb was sent in late May 1978 to materials engineering professor Buckley Crist at Northwestern University, where a policeman, Terry Marker, opened the package which exploded immediately, leaving him with severe injuries to his left hand (Unabomber). He not only mailed his bombs, but would also hand place them throughout the United States. In California Kaczynski hand placed a nail and splinter loaded bomb in a parking lot of a computer store.When it was touched, it exploded, killing the 38-year-old computer store owner (Unabomber). Theodore was not just a murder with no motive, he proclaimed that humans were ruining the world through technology (Kaczynski). After 17 years of his bombing campaign, he sent his 35,00 0-word essay â€Å"Industrial Society and Its Future†, abbreviated to â€Å"Unabomber Manifesto† to major media outlets around the U. S. (Unabomber). The essay called for a worldwide revolution against the effects of modern society's â€Å"industrial-technological system† (Kaczynski).He stated that â€Å"the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race† (Kaczynski). Several months after the Unabomber Manifesto was printed on the Washington Post, Kaczinski's brother and wife recognized his brothers writing styles and beliefs and tipped off the police. FBI officers arrested Kaczynski on April 3rd, 1996, at his remote cabin in Lincoln, Montana. Theodore thinks of himself as perfectly sane, with justifiable reasons connected to his crimes (Kaczynski). Theodore Kaczynski was sentenced to eight life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole.

Cultural Issues of Human Resource Management

International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 45 Carrying Cultural Baggage: the contribution of socio-cultural anthropology to cross-cultural coaching Barbara St Claire-Ostwald, CINCRA International Coaching & Training Consultancy, UK Email Contact: [email  protected] com Abstract This study examines the cultural awareness of professionals working in organisations.Given the multicultural nature of today’s workforce, it is becoming increasingly important for companies and coaches alike to take into account how cross-cultural differences may affect daily working practices. The study draws on a review of current research into cultural dimensions and looks at the complex relationship between personality and culture – our ‘cultural baggage’. In order to explore the opinions and cultural awareness of participants, a questionnaire was developed.The purpose of the questionnaire was to identify themes and orientatio ns to cross-cultural issues in terms not only of communality but also of paradoxes. The results highlighted a high level of recognition of cultural dilemmas and a perceived need and willingness to address and reconcile them. However, the diversity of opinions about the potential benefits of specific methods of addressing cultural dilemmas suggested considerable uncertainly about dealing with cross cultural issues.Key Words: Cross-cultural, cultural baggage, cultural dimensions, coaching, mentoring, socio-cultural anthropology Introduction The aim of this paper is to report on the results of a study designed to explore the emerging discipline of cross-cultural coaching (Rosinski 2003) and to establish the levels of awareness about, and attitudes to cross-cultural issues; the patterns and/or relationships between awareness, attitudes and cultural dimensions among businesses and business consultants, coaches, mentors and coaching/mentoring organisations.I began this study from the pers pective that while there has been some research into mentoring and coaching, there appeared to be little that focussed specifically on cross-cultural influences. In my review of the available literature, it became increasingly clear that the integration of a cultural perspective into coaching was very much at the ‘pioneering’ stage. The main aims of this study were to try and establish levels of awareness bout, and attitudes to cross-cultural issues; and to study the patterns and/or relationships between awareness, attitudes and the cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede and Trompenaars and HampdenTurner among businesses and business consultants, and coaching organisations. Cross-cultural coaching addresses the way in which cultural differences affect the daily lives of people, and raises awareness of cultural differences and the effect they can have on the process of managing others and doing business in general.In today’s global economy organisations underst and that to sustain successful and resilient businesses and to keep their competitive edge, they must develop employees who understand their global business, and employ people with global skills. Rosinski (2003) and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) have developed pioneering work in cross-cultural competencies and coaching methods. At a fundamental level, their International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 46 work has been based on the works of socio-cultural anthropologists Hofstede (1980) and Schwartz (1994).Their contribution in overcoming cultural miscommunication, tension and conflict, including the perils of stereotyping and ‘mono-culturalism’, has helped to formulate and explore the hypothesis of this study. Cultural baggage: a by-product of cultural systems Socio-anthropological thinking is based on the premise that all humans are born with the same basic physical characteristics, but depending on where they g row up, each individual is exposed to different climates, foods, languages, religious beliefs etc.Therefore, ‘are we really self-made or did our parents, teachers, families and friends have a hand in it? ’ (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1997, p. 54). Thus, one could argue that the socioanthropological perspective on culture takes a holistic view, describing culture as a pattern of learned and shared behaviours of people and/or groups consisting of belief systems and languages; and of social relationships be they personal, organisational, or institutional. (Hall, 1963; Hall and Hall, 1987; Hofstede, 1980; Kondo, 1990; Levi-Strauss, 1966; Schwartz, 1994).Therefore, at a fundamental level, it could be argued that culture is a representation of a complete way of life of a people who share the same attitudes, values and practices. Csikszentmihalyi (1997, p. 7) makes the distinction of ‘identity’ by using snowflakes as a metaphor: â€Å"They look identical as they fall, but taking a closer look, we soon discover that they are not identical†. Hence, he argues, rather than seeing identity as a single unitary self, perhaps cultural identity should be viewed as being multi-faceted, i. e. cknowledging that people have a number of selves or identities depending on context and setting. For example, the biggest barrier individuals and/or employees encounter is not necessarily that they come from different parts of the world, or that they speak a different language or even occupy a different physical space, it is the baggage they carry in their own cultural suitcases which needs to be explored. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner maintain that what people expect depends on where they come from, and the meanings they give to what they have or are experiencing.They argue that â€Å"expectations occur on many different levels, from concrete, explicit level to implicit and subconscious ones† (1997, p. 21). Furthermore, they describe culture a s consisting of various layers: †¦The outer layers are the products and artefacts that symbolise the deeper, more basic values and assumptions about life. The different layers are not independent from one another, but are complementary [†¦]. The shared meanings that are the core of the culture are man-made; are incorporated into people within a culture yet transcend the people in culture. (1997, p. 7) Cross-cultural dilemmas Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner argue that â€Å"Every culture distinguishes itself from others by the specific solutions it chooses to certain problems which reveal themselves as dilemmas† (p. 8); to this end, they have incorporated best management theories into their own analysis of the task of managing across cultures. These theories were realized by using a participant questionnaire profiler, which was based on their Seven Dimensions of Culture model and by incorporating Trompenaars and Woolliams framework for managing change across cultures. Similarly, Rosinski points out the dangers of our assumptions and beliefs systems when working with coachees from varying origins and backgrounds. He argues that by providing a framework for integrating coaching and cultural perspectives, i. e. examining numerous International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 47 cultural orientations, styles and approaches to coaching, the development of a cross-cultural mindset will be facilitated.For example, he writes: Our identity could be viewed as this personal and dynamic synthesis of multiple cultures. Our behaviour will typically vary depending on the group we happen to be associated with [. †¦]. The fact that our behaviours depend in part on the particular cultural context further justifies the need for coaches to integrate the cultural perspective into their practice. In some cases the obstacle to someone’s progress may be cultural rather than psychological, thus calling for a di fferent coaching dialogue. p. 1) Furthermore, he maintains that cultural awareness is more than just realizing another culture is different from our own; it is also about learning to value that other culture. He argues that culture is behind our behaviour, and often without our realization. It can influence how close we stand, how loud we speak, how we deal with conflict and as a result, by failing to understand how culture impacts our needs and preferences, culture can often lead us to misinterpret behaviour.Methodology As the research was exploratory, I focussed the design on two main aspects: the initial review of literature which drew on a broad array of coaching and socio-anthropological theories and studies, and the less extensive, but nevertheless in-depth cross-cultural coaching work of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997), and Rosinski (2003). In turn, this provided the basis for the primary research, which took the form of a questionnaire which was sent to a small expert survey sample to identify cross-cultural themes and patterns.To ensure that survey participants had some recognizable expertise on the subject under investigation, I adopted the model in (Fig. 1) below. On the one hand, I was attempting to quantify levels of awareness of cross-cultural issues, as well as to explore the accompanying opinions, beliefs and assumptions, and how they relate to the dimensions of culture. I was also trying to make sure that the survey respondents would have an interest in this particular area of study. Fig. Survey Sample and Questionnaire Model Corporate/Business Consultants Awareness Opinions Coaching Organisations The survey sample was not only limited in size, but also in terms of the geographical make-up of the participants, who were mostly from the U. K. with the rest from continental Europe. By International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 48 extension it would be difficult to generalise from the resul ts, however, this was not the intention of the study.While gender could also be a factor which might influence attitudes and responses, the exploratory nature of the study precluded it from being a controlled variable at this point, although this issue could form the basis for further research. The purpose of the initial questionnaire was to elicit the opinions of the survey participants in order to identify themes and orientations to cross-cultural issues, in terms of communality as well as potential paradoxes.It was also intended to see how these opinions and orientations fitted with responses to questions about the various cultural dimensions identified and developed by Hofstede and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner. The questionnaire was therefore divided into two parts. The first section addressed the opinions about attitudes, values and behaviours pertaining to culture in general, cultural dilemmas and, to crosscultural coaching and training specifically.I also decided to use a n umber of similar questions to check for inconsistencies in responses, which might indicate either a paradox in terms of opinions, possibly a conflict between a ‘norm’ and a given individual’s personal view, or could reflect a lack of appreciation for, or indeed indifference to, a given issue. The second section of the questionnaire was constructed on the basis of Hofstede’s and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s cultural dimensions, and sought to elicit culture-specific values, beliefs and assumptions which could influence cross-cultural interaction within a professional environment.Results, discussions and recommendations In analyzing the responses to the questionnaire, it was evident that there was a high level of recognition of the importance of cross-cultural issues, and the need to address and reconcile them. However it was very difficult to define or quantify levels of cultural awareness, which was to some extent unsurprising given the complexit y of the issues involved. But as I outlined in the methodology, a major objective was also to explore the quality of awareness and understanding of cultural dilemmas and dimensions.In this respect, the first section of the questionnaire (on attitudes to culture and potential cross-cultural training solutions) was very instructive in terms of perceptions about the relationship between culture and personality. In my opinion, the most notable contrast was that there was considerably greater agreement that culture shapes the personality and a lot more uncertainty about how the individual shapes culture. This impression was further reinforced by the general agreement that managers from different cultures do not necessarily find it easy to adapt their behaviour to fit the different needs of another culture.From a coaching perspective, it suggests some attention needs to be paid to how an individual perceives and relates to his/her culture. For example, there is a clear difference between seeing culture as providing a framework for social interaction, which is constantly evolving, and on the other hand perceiving culture as providing a set of social constraints. In either case, there may be some elements of our culture, which at an individual level are considered to be important in our everyday lives, while there are others which may be difficult to accept, which could be sources of tension with other members of our culture.Given that such perceptions may be operating partly at a subconscious level, this may not be easy to establish. But they appear to me to be a significant element in the process of gaining a better understanding of our cultural baggage, i. e. in how we synthesize the myriad of cultural groupings to which we are exposed on a daily basis. There was greater diversity of opinion about the benefits of specific cross-cultural training solutions, and when, where and how they might be applied.The initial conclusion that can be drawn is this shows that the process of integrating the cross-cultural domain into both business and coaching practice is still at an early stage of development. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 49 As far as improving the general awareness and understanding of the benefits of cross-cultural training, three sets of responses in the first section seem to me to define some of the issues that need to be addressed.Firstly the fact that half of the respondents believed that cultural issues within organisations are dealt with only if they relate to behavioural issues is indicative of a certain level of resistance to dealing with these issues, which may be due to an appreciation of the complexity of such issues. On the other hand, if cultural issues in some organisations are only addressed when there is a behavioural conflict, then this will tend to cast them in a negative light.Hence it does lead to the conclusion that some organisations are not sufficientl y aware that ignoring and playing down cultural differences, as well as evaluating them negatively, is a major contributor to miscommunication, misunderstanding and conflict. Secondly, while coaches largely agreed that business managers recognise that diversity training should now include cross-cultural training for employees sent on global assignments, the business organisation responses were much divided.This leads me to conclude that some businesses are either unaware, or possibly not persuaded of the benefits of this specific approach. Nevertheless this set of responses, and the fact that none of the respondents disagreed that incorporating the dilemmas deriving from the differences in cultural dimensions help organisations to integrate their cultural orientations suggests that the key area of uncertainty among businesses and coaches is the method and/or models of integrating cultural dilemmas.The point that this suggests to me is, that before any attempt is made to develop the skills necessary to negotiate the differences between cultures, a greater awareness of how we negotiate difference in our own culture is required. This is to say we need to be more consciously and self-critically aware of the assumptions that underlie our habitual responses and modes of interaction, in other words our cultural baggage. In principal this is already the main focus of traditional coaching and mentoring.But I believe considerably more research needs to be conducted into how these methods and skills can be developed to take account of and integrate cross-cultural issues and dilemmas. From national to cross-cultural perspectives Cross-cultural research has largely focused on national differences because it is much easier to establish a person’s nationality, than to identify him/her as belonging to another type of cultural grouping, be that regional, professional, political, economic or social.The most frequently cited reason is that a given individual will be a mem ber of numerous forms of socalled sub-cultures or higher level cultures (e. g. European), which in effect rules them out as unique independent variables. But I believe that without exercising some control for the effect of these ‘other’ cultural variables, it is difficult to be sure that attributing a given behaviour, belief, value or attitude expressed by an individual to national cultural influences is theoretically or empirically valid.For example, even at a national level, there has to be particular care to acknowledge the difference between ethnically diverse nations such as Canada or Malaysia; ethnically and/or religiously divided nations such as Belgium or the former Yugoslavia, or relatively homogeneous nations such as Japan or Korea, let alone very complex national cultures such as China or India. In essence, this does nothing more than acknowledge that socio-cultural anthropology is the study of the dilemmas and problems of differences and similarities not onl y between, but also within societies.In the specific context of this study, one of the most interesting aspects of the responses to the second section of the questionnaire on cultural dimensions was the differences in opinions both within and between coaches and business organisations. My original intention in including a section on cultural dimensions was to explore the relationship between these responses and those on the first section of the questionnaire. But the differences of opinions between the two sets of respondents on ‘universalism vs. particularism’ and ‘individualism vs. ommunitarianism’ (Fig. 6) suggested to me that I had to consider whether these opinions in some way reflected values that were influenced by the differing needs and requirements of the corporate and coaching environments. I cannot conclude whether this was the key influence International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 50 on thes e responses. However I do think this emphasizes that it is tenuous to assume that the responses to such value dimensions questionnaires can be ascribed largely to national culture.I also believe that the way that corporate and professional culture influences our habits and values requires a great deal more in-depth research. For example, it might be interesting to establish whether there are differences in the responses to a cultural dimensions questionnaire between professional groups, e. g. doctors, police officers, computer programmers, sports professionals, etc. , and how these compare to national differences. However, it also has to be acknowledged that the difficulty of drawing any definite conclusions about key influences is clearly a limitation to the use of questionnaires in general.This does suggest it would have been preferable to be able to expand and explore the data that was generated by the questionnaires via follow-up interviews. But, as discussed in the methodology, this would have required a lot more time and resources than were available to me in this study. Nevertheless analyzing the results in relation to the problem of ignoring and playing down the importance of cultural differences also suggested that the questionnaire design needed refinement.Specifically, I was unable to deduce or make any assumptions about what level of importance each respondent attached to each of the dimensions. A system of ranking the various value dimensions is not a new concept or methodology, in that it is very similar to the two ‘basic bipolar’ dimensions of ‘openness to change vs. conservation’ and ‘selfenhancement vs. self transcendence’ that are incorporated as higher dimensions in the Schwartz Value Inventory (Fig. 4).But more importantly I think that more research into developing a system of ranking the value dimensions would not only help to identify those value dimensions, which may be ignored, downplayed or even n egatively evaluated, but also provide a potentially very useful tool for integrating the cross-cultural dimension into traditional coaching and mentoring practices. Conclusion From this specific perspective, a focus on quantifying how national cultures differ along the various value dimensions that have been identified does run some risk of contributing to the formation of cultural stereotypes, which have little or no predictive value.This is why greater emphasis needs to be placed on understanding our own ‘cultural baggage’ from a coaching perspective, particularly on the dynamic processes of the way in which our own culture has, and is evolving. The building blocks of improving cultural awareness and developing cross-cultural skills therefore have much in common with the key skills associated with building rapport as a coach or mentor. For the coach or business organisation, it is therefore about understanding the processes involved with the different ways in which we negotiate social interaction, and the elements of the various models of culture.These range from the apparently simple distinction between the visible and invisible level of values (Fig. 1) to the complexity of Schwartz’s ‘Theoretical model of relations among motivational value types and two basic bipolar value dimensions’ (Fig. 4). It is about raising our awareness of what is subconscious and invisible up to a conscious and visible level; and from there we can develop the skills necessary to negotiate ways of interacting with others whose values, attitudes and habits, or indeed in contexts are unfamiliar to us.I believe that if this is to be achieved, coaching and cross-cultural research needs to transcend the limitations of a focus on national culture. It needs to acknowledge that cultural identity should be viewed as being multi-faceted, and that people have a number of selves or identities depending on context and setting. The work of Schwartz, Hofstede and Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner has provided very valuable insight into the cultural dimensions, which help to identify the way in which values differ between national cultures.However, they would also be the first to acknowledge that International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 51 national cultures are in a constant state of change, and this in turn dictates the need to evolve their questionnaires, re-analyze the accompanying databases of results, and amend and redefine their models accordingly. But perhaps the key aspect for further research is to develop methods that place a greater emphasis on the processes though which culture changes.In other words how human actions and practices change, and new meanings evolve in response to changes to social contexts. By this I mean for example: the impact of increased migration (whether voluntary, or in response to political or economic factors), or the proliferation of new forms of communicati on like the internet, not only on working environments, but on the myriad ways in which we organize our social lives. The point being that this should help to move research and practice from a focus on more abstract concepts such as values, to the ways in which culture is produced and negotiated.Consequently, as Rosinski (2003, p. xviii) said, ‘intercultural professionals will be better equipped to fulfil their commitment to extend people’s worldviews, bridge cultural gaps, and enable successful work across cultures’. References Clutterbuck, D. (1985), Everyone needs a Mentor, Fostering talent at work (3rd Ed), Trowbridge: The Cromwell Press Clutterbuck, D. (2003), ‘The Problem with research in mentoring’ The Coaching and Mentoring Network Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997), Living Well, The Psychology of Everyday Life, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Flaherty, J. 1999), Coaching – Evoking Excellence in Others, Burlington MA: Elsevier Foucault, M. (1 980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, Ed. Colin Gordon, New York: Pantheon Books Gray, J. (2000), Two Faces of Liberalism, London: Polity Press Hall, E. T. (1963), The Silent Language, Greenwich Connecticut: Fawcett Publications Inc. Hall, E. T. (1976), Beyond Culture, Garden City NY: Anchor Press Hall, E. T. (1984), The Dance of Life – The Other Dimension of Time, Garden City NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday Hall, E. T. & Hall, M. R. 1987), Hidden Differences – Doing business with the Japanese, Garden City NU: Anchor Press/Doubleday Hall, E. T. & Hall, M. R. (1990), Understanding Cultural Differences, Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press Hofstede, G. H. (1980), Culture’s Consequences – International Differences in Work-Related Values, Beverly Hills: Sage Publications Hofstede, G. H. (1991), Cultures and Organizations – Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill U. K. , (1997) New York, McGraw-Hill U. S. A. , Third Millenniu m Edition, and (2004) New York: McGraw-Hill U. S. A. Hofstede, G.H. (1998), Masculinity and Femininity – The Taboo Dimension of National Cultures, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Hofstede, G. H. & McCrae, R. R. (2004), ‘Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture’, Cross-Cultural Research, Vol. 38, No. 1, p. 52-88 Hussey, J. & Hussey, R. (1997), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, London: Macmillan Press Ltd. Jarvis, J. (2004), Coaching and Buying Coaching Services – a CIPD guide, London: CIPD Enterprises Ltd Kerlinger, F. N. 1979,) Behavioural Research: A Conceptual Approach, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Kondo, D. (1990), Crafting Selves: Power, Gender and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 9, 11-24 International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 5. No. 2 August, 2007 Page 52 Kram, K. E. (198 8), Mentoring at Work – Developmental Relationships in Organizational Life, Lanham: University Press of America Kuhn, T. S. (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press Levi-Strauss, C. 1966), The Savage Mind, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Megginson, D. & Clutterbuck, D. (1995), Mentoring in Action – a practical guide for managers, London: Kogan Page Ltd. Nietzsche, F. quotes, QuotationsPage (2005) http://www. quotationspage. com/quotes/Friedrich_Nietzsche/ Oxford Dictionary of English (2003), Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Editors), Oxford: Oxford University Press Peterson, D. & Hicks, M. D. (1996), Leader as coach: Strategies for coaching and developing others, Minneapolis, MN: Personnel Decisions International Potter, J. Wetherell, M. (1995), ‘Discourse analysis’, in Smith, J. , Harre, R. , van Langenhove, R. , (Eds), Rethinking Methods in Psychology, London: Sage Robson C. (1992), Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitionerresearchers, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Rosinski, P. (2003), Coaching Across Cultures, London: Nicholas Brealey Schwartz, S. H. (1994), Beyond Individualism/Collectivism – New Dimensions of Values. in Individualism and Collectivism: Theory Application and Methods, U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C.Kagitciabasi, S. C. Choi and G. Yoon (Eds) Newbury Park CA: Sage. Tao Te Ching quotes, ThinkExist quotations (2005), http://en. thinkexist. com/quotes/Tao_Te_Ching The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sociology (1991), 4th edition, Guilford, Connecticut: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc. Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997), Riding the Waves of Culture, London: Nicholas Brealey (2nd Ed) Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turner, C. 1993), The Seven Cultures of Capitalism, London: Piatkus Trompenaars, F. & Woolliams, P. (2003), Journal of Change Manage ment Vol. 3, 4, p. 361375: Henry Stewart Publication Watson, T. J. (2001), In Search of Management – Culture, chaos and control in managerial work, London: Thomson Learning Whitworth, L. , Kimsey-House, H. , Sandahl, P. (1998), Co-Active Coaching, Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publishing Zachary, L. J. (2000), The Mentor’s Guide – Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Zeus, P. & Skiffington, S. 2002), The Coaching at Work Toolkit – A Complete Guide to Techniques and Practices, Australia: McGraw-Hill Barbara StClaire-Ostwald is an international coach and freelance consultant who specialises in cross-cultural awareness and developing successful and effective communication skills for global managers and teams. Barbara grew up in the United Kingdom as a Polish/British dual national. Prior to setting up her coaching practice CINCRA, she lived and worked in the UK, Continental Europe and North Africa for over 30 years; working for multinationals in the private, public and not for profit sectors.Barbara is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and until recently, Chair of the EMCC European Conference Committee. She is also a member of the British Psychological Society, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, British Sociological Association and the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR). She is tri-lingual (Polish, English, French) and she is able to converse in Dutch, German, Czech and Slovak.

Financial statment analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Financial statment analysis - Essay Example An attempt is also made to correlate the performance of the companies and the share price movements at the stock exchange. The profitability of a firm is usually evaluated in terms of the gross margin, net margin, earnings per share and payment of dividend. Over the last three years the gross profit of the company has been showing both upward and downward trend. In the first year (2006), gross profit has shown a decrease of 1.12 percent from that of the year 2005. In the next year also, the profit has shown a significant setback, which accounts for around 79 percent. However, it was corrected in the third year, where the firm could achieve an increase of around 29 percent when compared to the year 2007. This is because of the reason that in the first and second year (2006 and 2007), cost of goods sold has shown a significant increase which is not in proportion to the change in sales. However, the net profit figures over the period show a different picture. The firm could achieve a positive figure in all the three years which indicate that the firm is in a position to meet the interest of all its stakeho lders, particularly that of shareholders. The profit after tax, which represents the amount available to ordinary shareholders (investors) for all the three years, shows an increasing trend. ... It is given in the Task II that how good is the return on capital employed of the firm. It is evident from the table (please include table No. Here) that return on capital employed has been good for the form for the last three years. Apart from not being it stable, return on capital employed shows an increasing trend. From the year 2005 to 2006, there is an increase of about 7 percent. From the year 2006 to 2007, it is further increased by another 8 percent. It was again increased from 8 percent to 11.6 percent in the year 2008. This state of affairs is really a green signal for the investors to ensure themselves that they will be assured a happy return. Analysis of Financial Status Financial status of a firm is the financial position or condition that the firm has on a particular date as a result of business operations. Financial position of a firm is usually described the balance sheet and other analytical tools like common size balance sheet, balance sheet ratios etc. When balance sheet exhibits the list of assets a business owns and liabilities that the business owes, common size balance sheet and balance sheet ratios provide a detailed picture of the financial position of the concern. Therefore, it is better to describe the common size balance sheet and important balance sheet tools to know more about the firm's financial condition. In the common size statement all important items in the balance sheet are expressed as a percentage of shareholders' equity. The statement reports that current liabilities are regularly paid out by the firm as it shows a decrease from year to year. In the first year, current liabilities accounts for around 50 percent of the shar eholders' equity. However, it was reduced to 47 percent and then to 32 percent in the

Drug Courts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drug Courts - Research Paper Example Conversely, when those forces are unequal, some economics focus on the 'supply side' of the equation, while others view the 'demand' side as that which needs to be focused on. The history of economics is one that shifts in emphasis from supply to demand and back again. It will be argued in the following that the use of 'diversion' in the courts represents a good step toward tackling the 'demand' side of the drug equation. And, what is important beyond the success or failure, is that it is an attempt to deal with demand rather than continuing the war on drugs that aims mostly at supply. This said, while it is a step in the right direction, there are some important limitations. Community based drug rehabs have had a largely positive outcome. One of the tertiary side effects of wide scale drug use, is the increase in crime as a consequence. While it is the case that drug use itself is largely illegal, that is not the sole crime committed by drug users. There is a large incarceration rat e of individuals who did crimes to support their drug habits [Stone and Stone 95]. This can mean something as simple as a house-robbery, to the large scale distribution of narcotics, to neglecting the welfare of one's children because of the time constraints and debilitating effects of addiction. These three examples stand to show how diverse the consequences of drug addiction is. Policing and thus, the criminal justice system are pretty burdened by drug abuse both in its primary sense, but also in the secondary or tertiary consequences of addicted behaviors. The cost of this involvement is formidable. For instance, where a community based drug rehab was in place in Washington State, the cost to the community for every dollar spent varied from over $ 18 benefit from investing in a community program, just over $ 5. dollars for investing in criminal prosecution and just $ 2.08 for diversion courts [Velazquez 14]. The dollar investment in community based programs is economically much m ore successful than other approaches, and yet, it is estimated that among the population in the US, nine percent of Americans are addicted to some type of narcotic on the one hand, and on the other hand, less than a quarter of those receive substance abuse treatment, and finally, among that quarter, about 37 % of those treated were mandated to do so [Velasquez 14]. Before looking at how and where the drug court system presents itself as limited, as compared, for example, with the optimal course of treatment which is community based, some remarks on the success of drug courts will be presented. Likewise, the rationale behind the very practice will get outlined. The very purpose of drug courts, is to avoid the costly endeavor of criminal incarceration. There is a cost built into housing an individual in jail, but also a larger cost than that when one considers what a criminal record is going to cost that individual [Nolan 129]. For instance, one could describe a 'vicious circle' of cr iminality associated with drug behavior. When a convicted individual returns to the regular world, so to speak, they will find themselves with a very diminished capacity as far as basic opportunities go. A criminal record means that many opportunities that might have once been open to them, are no longer available because of the conviction and incarceration. For instance, when we look at the recidivism rate among individuals who have been convicted, the rate is much higher for people who have a prior criminal conviction [Wolfe,

The fourth of july Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The fourth of july - Essay Example The day started out with me waking up to the explosion of a few fireworks and I remembered how I promised A to go with her for the Independence Day celebration events. My cousins had stayed over the previous day, and once I was done with my morning routine and headed downstairs, I saw the whole kitchen bustling with excited young energy. The radio was blaring with Fourth of July related theme songs in the kitchen, whereas in the living room the television showed news regarding the various events of the day. I was not surprised to find A making merry with the elders of my family and I began to realize how much close she had become with us. â€Å"Good morning, sleepyhead,† she happily shrieked, to which I replied â€Å"A very good morning to you too miss cheeky-full-of-energy.† My cousins and I got ready soon and once I was done with breakfast, we left, but only after A reminded the elders that if they were lucky, they could spot us on television on channel ‘WETA TV 26.’ The plan was to spend the day in Washington, DC, attending all the events held there and getting home only after, as A ordered, we had the real taste of Fourth of July. â€Å"Hurry up, or we’re going to miss the train people!† she exclaimed, and I frantically ushered my four cousins into the metro. I could swear I have never seen the station so overcrowded before, not to mention the train itself. What I could notice from the tiny gap between my cousins was the happy faces of people who were in the train. This particular train population consisted of people dressed up in different styles related to the nation’s flag, and belonging to different age groups, as well as those who were unique in their own ethnicity, race and culture. I was amazed at how the train stood testimony to the growing multiculturalism in the North American mainstream (Kottak and Kozaitis). We were headed to the National Mall, and upon observing the people that surrounded us, I could gather th at they had the same

What are the limitations of situational crime prevention Essay

What are the limitations of situational crime prevention - Essay Example es to reduce the opportunities for crime by increasing the effort that the offender must invest, increasing the risks he must take, and reducing the rewards. Moreover, a key finding in studies of situational crime prevention is that the calculus of risks and rewards does not have to be decisively altered to be effective. An instructive example is prevention of library and bookstore thefts by electronic detection systems. To a determined shoplifter (or library lifter), the system hardly poses an insuperable obstacle. And yet such systems are effective even when only a small portion (or even none) of a librarys books have actually been coded with the magnetic strip (Petersilia et al., 1995, 244). However, although the measures suggested in accordance with the principles of situational crime prevention can be very helpful towards the prevention of crime in specific places, in practice several factors can influence the completion of the relevant procedure in a way that the desired target – limitation of crime in specific places – is often missed. Back in the mid-nineteenth century, Edwin Chadwick had a very clear vision of crime prevention equivalent to the modern notion of opportunity reduction. As Reith says, quoting Chadwick, "the function of preventive police was placing difficulties in the way of objects of temptation."(1956:200). Chadwick, however, did not believe that the police alone were responsible for reducing criminal opportunities. In the Report of Constabulary Force Commissioners, he argued the need for "the honest portion of the community" to be "convinced of the necessity of taking effective measures for the abatement of the evil [property crime)" (Lefebre et al.,1839:55). Returning to more recent times, one begins to see the emergence of a specific crime prevention policy in Britain from 1950 when, according to the Greater London Council (GLC) (1986) the Home Office approached the insurance industry and in concert with them produced the first

Philosophy [Close Reading] Capital Volume I, Karl Marx Essay

Philosophy [Close Reading] Capital Volume I, Karl Marx - Essay Example The longer the time spent to create a certain product, the higher the value it will command in the market. A Marxist analysis would give us a premise that labor is the source of all value since it is a â€Å"congelation† of labor. The Marxist theory is that the amount of labor embodied in the material object would determine its value. â€Å"As values, all commodities are only definite masses of congealed labor-time.† (Capital, Vol. I, p. 40.) Unfortunately, the importance of labor is muted by the fact that according to Marx, many capitalists are exploiting labor. In the Capital Volume 1 chapter 4, Marx often described the acts of the capitalists in the wage-labor exchange with the laborers as something akin to robbery, theft and embezzlement. Marx believed that the capitalists are essential robbing the laborers of the value of their labor by denying the laborers the full price of their labor. Note that in the Marxist point of view, labor has two characters, the abstract and the concrete nature. Note that under the arguments of Marx, any act of labor expended have dual impact where one is the concrete action directed towards the making of certain products and the abstract portion which is disposable for the use of society in a given place and time. In other words, where the system separates the actual act of production from the means of production; labor itself as human labor force becomes a commodity that could be traded for value. (See Capital, Vol. 1, p. 71.) The fact that the owners of the means of production such as the capitalists tries to extract more labor for less pay is seen by Marx as form of thievery that is directed on the laborers’ labor commodity. In other words, the exploitation of labor is seen by Marx as form of violation of the rights of the laborer to the fruits of their labor. How do the owners of the means of production or the capitalists steal labor? Marx

Briefing a case State v. Wells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Briefing a case State v. Wells - Essay Example The appellant maintained her innocence, but believing that she would be convicted and sentenced harshly at a trial, she entered into plea negotiations and agreed to plead guilty provided the prosecution recommend a sentence of 8 years on the vehicular homicide count, and 4 years for the vehicular assault to run concurrently. The prosecution agreed and the appellant pleaded guilty (Alford pleas). The court accepted the prosecution’s recommendations for sentencing and the appellant was sentenced accordingly. Legal Issues: The appellant raised two legal issues on appeal. First she contends that the trial court erred in failing to ascertain whether or not her Alford pleas were entered â€Å"freely and knowingly† pursuant to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in North Carolina v Alford (1971) 400 U.S. 25. Secondly, the appellant argued that her guilty pleas were not entered freely and knowingly because her attorney had not properly informed her of the legal consequences of the guilty pleas. Reasoning: After reviewing the record of the proceedings in the lower court the appellate court determined that the court specifically inquired as to why the appellant was pleading guilty and not opting to go to trial. It was revealed that the appellant agreed that she felt she would be convicted despite her innocence and would receive a harsher sentence than the sentence she negotiated under the plea agreement. Thus, the court found that the necessary inquiries were made pursuant to the Alford case to ascertain that the appellant had freely and knowingly accepted a plea agreement. Therefore the first ground of appeal was dismissed on the merits. As to the second ground of appeal, the appellate court reasoned that there was no evidence on the record illustrating that the attorney did not properly inform the appellant of the legal consequences of Alford pleas. Relying on State v Cooperrider (1983) 4 Ohio St. 3d. 226, the appellate court reasoned that when an

Company Law- An Overview Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Company Law- An Overview - Case Study Example Generally, the company law recognizes two types of persons, namely natural which is confined to human beings and secondly artificial persons which refers anything other than the human being which the law recognizes as having duties and rights. Scholars have constantly explored the issue on the recognition of corporation/company as a "legal person" (Farrar, (1991) (1) A company, when legally speaking, is an association of a number of individuals for the purpose of carrying on some legitimate business i.e. entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship. It is the name given to the body of legal rules relating to the creation, management, financing and operation of companies. The various status of companies, like separate legal entity, limited liability etc has been contributed a number of recognition for English law, by which a company, as well as its members, possess some rights and liabilities. organizations such as religious orders and local authorities which were granted rights by the government to hold property and sue and be sued in their own right and not to have to rely on the rights of the members behind the organization. Later on, this concept began to apply to commercial ventures with a public interest element such as rail building ventures Farrar (Company law, 1991) (3) has described the concept of separate legal personality as a metaphorical use of language, clothing the formal group with a single separate legal entity by analogy with a natural person. The decision of the House of Lords in Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd (4) rightly molded the concept of legal entity nature of a company and it provided new principles to the Company law. It firmly established that upon incorporation, a new and separate artificial entity comes into existence. Hence corporation/company is a distinct person with its own personality separate from and independent of the persons who formed it, who invest money in it, and who direct and manage its operations. (Ford, Austin, and Ramsay, 1997)(5) The decision uprooted in the law by the later decision in Lee v Lee's Air Farming (6).

Eudora Welty Essay Example for Free

Eudora Welty Essay The word determination is defined as, â€Å"the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.† Will-power is, â€Å"the strength or will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.† In the short story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix carried out the meaning of these two words throughout the whole story. She had experienced many road blocks during her journey, but she did not let them stop her from reaching the goal she had at the time. In the story, Phoenix is a very old woman who needed to go to town to get medicine for her sick grandson. She overcame obstacles that were both physical and mental throughout the course of the story. Her courage and devotion to her grandson showed that she was willing to go the extra mile to make sure that her grandson was okay. This was not only because she cared for him, but because she loved him. Phoenix encountered many obstacles during her journey to town and one of them was getting through the thorn bush. As she was walking down the path her dress had got caught. A worn path: literary analysis Literary Analysis Arising out of the ashes the phoenix came back to life again. In Greek mythology the phoenix is the symbol for idealism and hope. It falls only to arise and live again. The main character of Eudora Weltys short story, A Worn Path, is much like this phoenix. She must overc Premium 508 Words 3 Pages Never give up: a character analysis of phoenix from weltys a worn path Never Give Up: A Character Analysis of Phoenix from Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path† By STUDENT NAME Professor NAME CLASS NAME DATE Outline Thesis statement: In â€Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson displays extraordinary perseverance in the face of difficulty, which ultimatel Premium 971 Words 4 Pages Analysis of a short story a worn path by eudora welty Analysis of a short story â€Å"A Worn Path† by Eudora Welty. Lit.1 Characters: Phoenix Jackson : Is the protagonist of the story. She is described in vivid colors, suggesting her lively nature: she wears a red rag in her hair and her skin is described as â€Å"yellow,† â€Å"golden† Premium 1151 Words 5 Pages Character analysis-a worn path A Woman of Amazing Character Will-power and determination plays a major role when it comes to people accomplishing goals and performing the tasks they are given. When a person possesses these two qualities they are motivated, focused, will not give up easily, determined along with many other thi Premium 907 Words 4 Pages Literary analysis on a worn path Literary Analysis on A Worn Path In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the protagonist Phoenix Jackson helps portray the theme that people will do anything for whom they love. Everyday people are going out of their way to make either a theoretical or literal journey to help someone they love. In the Premium 407 Words 2 Pages The Worn Path analysis In the story â€Å"A Worn Path†, there is a repetitive comparison between the main character and a mythological creature. The author Eudora Welty chooses Phoenix Jackson to symbolize through color, her appearance, behavior and overall journey a Phoenix bird. The author gives description to Premium 387 Words 2 Pages Literary Analysis of The Worn Path In the Worn Path, by Eudora Welty, the placement consorts with the time to create an environment which hinders Phoenix’s progress but reinstates dedication and persistence into her journey. During the establishment of the setting, the first description is, â€Å"It was December—a bright Premium 294 Words 2 Pages Worn path WORN PATH Eudora Welty brings the story, â€Å"A Worn Path†, to life through the use of the character Phoenix Jackson and symbols. This story detail’s an elderly Negro woman’s journey to town, on a mission of love. Phoenix Jackson, an elderly Negro women is frail, old, and Premium 914 Words 4 Pages A worn path essay 6 A Worn Path Detail of an elderly Negro womans journey from deep in the country to town, the while on mission of love. Phoenix Jackson, an elderly Negro women who is frail, old and has many handicaps, she lived during trying times and because of her race, faced many challenges while growing up Premium 862 Words 4 Pages A worn path: racial prejudice is rampant and out of control In the story A Worn Path, Eudora Welty shows an old woman living in a time period where racial prejudice is rampant and out of control. Phoenix Jackson is a grandmother whose only motivation for living is to nurture her grandson back to health. The strength of love may make people do or say unusua Premium 997 Words 4 Pages A worn path Eudora Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path† is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. This story contains a motif, which is the continuous walk Premium 1208 Words 5 Pages A worn path: the modern short story In the modern short story, Eudora Welty clearly develops Phoenix Jackson as a main character who indirectly manipulates other people. Phoenix, as the speaker in A Worn Path holds the status of an old Negro woman who continues the everyday cycle of life. Although, in reality Phoenix is an average h Premium 665 Words 3 Pages A worn path by eudora welty Ordeal of Devotion In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty an elderly African American woman named Phoenix Jackson picks a cold December day to make yet another perilous journey to a near by city to get medicine for her ailing grandson. On the way this ninety-year-old woman faces many obstacles, both natu Premium 985 Words 4 Pages A worn path essay 5 Eudora Weltys A Worn Path is a story that emphasizes the natural symbolism of the surroundings. As the story begins, we are introduced to our main character, Phoenix Jackson; she is described as a small, old Negro woman. I believe that the name Eudora Welty gives our main character is very symbo Premium 1346 Words 6 Pages A worn path: a tattered trail A Tattered Trail A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. The main character in the story, Phoenix Jackson, is an old black woman who makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her ill grandson. Despite the many ob Premium 840 Words 4 Pages Eudora welty: worn path, visit of charity Eudora Welty The are only so many ways an author may sum up the course of a human life within just a few pages. Eudora Welty has the awesome talent of being able to do just this. In her stories Where Is the Voice Coming From, A Visit of Charity and A Worn Path, Welty uses the reoccuring th Premium 545 Words 3 Pages

Muriel Tipalet Cigar Advertisement

Muriel Tipalet Cigar Advertisement This Examined essay analyzes an advertisement of Muriel Tiplat Cigar , with the use of semiotics and stereotyping , the start of this analysis will emphasis on semiotics by showing the process of connotation in the advertisement leading to the identifying of the signs used ( indexical , arbitrary , iconic ) and by connecting them to Barthes mythologies further to how combining these signs creates a cultural paradigm , in addition to this analysis will show how syntagmatic relations in an advertisement have a significant role in invoking the audience. subsequently an analysis on the same advertisement by the use of stereo typing will be conducted relating both on how they affect the consumer visual abstract of the product with the conclusion of how booth aspects have positively and negatively affected the foreplay of the advertisement not to mention the cultural significant role of the timeline which the advertisement was produced at â€Å"1970† .Books and journals are the primary sources of this coursework essay where as Internet is a secondary source, this essay is a research essay relying on accurate facts with adequate referencing. Introduction: â€Å"Advertisers in general bear a large part of the responsibility for the deep feelings of inadequacy that drive women to psychiatrists, pills, or the bottle. (Marya Mannes,But Will It Sell?: 1964) If a woman is reading the above statement she couldnt agree any less, the shrewd words of the American writer and critic Mannes have ironically drawn how media affects our lives, critics and commenters from every discipline have seized with advertisings potential power. It has been called â€Å" the most potent influence in adapting and changing habits and modes of life , affecting what we eat and the work and play for the whole nation. â€Å"(Fox, 1984, p.97) particularly women and especially through advertisement. advertising are predisposed to follow basic format: a slogan, striking image, drawing. Anything that would grasp peoples attention, the body of an advertisement contains factual information about the product or the purpose of the ad where as the logo reinforces the brand /companies identity, even though we may look at an advertisement for two seconds it leaves a mark in our minds and attaches us somehow to the brand or the product. But when analyzing on a much deeper visual level, an analyses must use a deeper perspective and in this analysis Semiotic and stereotype approach is going to be applied. â€Å"Semiotics; Semiology is the study of signs, or of the social production of meaning by sign systems, of how things come to significance† Semiotics, or semiology, is usually traced back to Swiss linguistFerdinand de Saussure, American philosopherCharles Sanders Peirce and French linguist Roland Barthes.† (TMSB, 2006, P: 12) All signs have two aspects: thesignifierand thesignified. The signifier is any material thing that signifies, for example words on a page, a facial expression, a picture, a bit of graffiti. The signified is the concept that a signifier refers to (Kevelson;1977,72 ). The basic, most essential form of sign, that is, of the relation of signifier to signified, isdenotation nearly, the factual meaning of a sign. But semiotics starts to get appealing when it exploresconnotation which involve signifying signs, signs that become the signifier for a second signified, and this is how advertising appeal to us. Using the below advertising a semiotic and stereotyping analysis is going to undertake; this advertisement is the publication of Muriel Tipalet cigar. Date of Publishing: 1970.[1] Semiotic Approach: This advertisement rather playfully foregrounds the process of connotation. One of the first things that catch many peoples eyes when they look at this ad is the smoke which is an indexical sign (a sign where the signifier is caused by the signified) which is the cigar. This image, combined with the words (arbitrary sign) on it,denotes, a sexual indication between the man smoking the cigar and the women, this way to attract â€Å"male audience† and using that when the women inhales the smoke of the Tipalet cigar shell follow him anywhere. In addition to the use of the iconic signs the photos of both the man and women resembling and combing it with â€Å"Barthes Mythologies: that every man should be with a glamorous woman and every woman should be glamorous.† (TMSB, 2006, P: 22) In addition to that the rich attractive description of the cigar at the right bottom of the ad attracts audience especially in using words like â€Å"Delicious in taste, in aroma â€Å"(symbolic signs).The use of colors as well is eye catching the yellow background with the colorful cigar packs; this definitely draws more attention to the advertisement and works as a foreplay of convincing the consumer to buy this product. Jointly, all these signs suggesting cigar, sexual relationships form a cultural paradigm, collection of signs which appeal to each other because they are culturally, or paradigmatically, related; Actually putting together two or more elements from a paradigm normally invokes, in the viewers mind. â€Å"With the exception of advertisements that actually give us factual information about a product that we dont already know plugging a product into culturally desirable paradigms, encouraging us to connotatively associate a product with other things we value, is the basic strategy of almost all brand-name product advertising today†(Jones,1999,115).As its shown in this ad the combining of the iconic, arbitrary and indexical signs is a way of persuasiveness, and this is why the ad must rely on another kind of semiotic structure besides paradigmatic relations to make its message work, using syntagmatic relations, If paradigmatic relations make meaning by way of shared cultural associations, women à   men à   relationships then syntagmatic relations are those in which the sequence of signs creates meaning. The cleverness in this ad is the establishment of avisualsequence that builds a clear relationship to reality and connects a pack of cigars to a lifetime situation but yet with their â€Å"product† the man is assured to get what he wants (the women), And thus, the advertisers are capable to relate their Cigars, not only with paradigms of relationships, life, sex, but with amazingly taste and satisfaction as well. Stereotype approach: Visual representation of reality, as seen through mass media, is accredited by sociologists to be significant in shaping peoples views of the world. Our everyday realities are expressed mostly by what we see in the media. The role of advertising in this construal of reality is crucial. The target audiences self-identification with the images being a basic condition for an advertisements effectiveness, makes advertising one of the most important factors in the building of behavior models and values systems. â€Å"Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people ;usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation† ( Media Awerness:2009) Gender stereotypes in society, reflected in advertising, are so familiar we hardly notice them: v The male ‘hunk, pursuer of women v The female ‘babe, seductress v The father wage earner head of the household v The housewife/mother figure protector of home and children The following table shows how common stereotypes relate and affect to Muriel Tipalet Cigars Ad/Consumer: Common and Related Stereotype. Relation to the Muriel Ad and Advertisement Generally. Influence on the consumer. Women are dependent on men. In the advertisement you can see by the use of the quote â€Å"blow in her face and shell follow you anywhere â€Å"that the man is holding the dominant role and upon his order, shell follow. â€Å"Its like women are treated like children; In 1973-1974 study by Erving goffman he concludes that women are weekend by advertising portrayals in the 1970s, ads are highly ritualized versions of the parent-child relationship, with women treated largely as children and that is diminishment damaging† (Goffman:1979,27) It creates a dilemma of temptation to the Male consumer, since every man wants women to follow his lead and demands. A good way to attract the male consumer rather than the female consumer. Women are beautiful and are sex objects. In the advertisement the female used in the image is a beautiful brunette with the perfect â€Å"media† image: In more sense â€Å"Portrayals of women in advertising are not potentially debilitating and demanding, they are also inaccurate. We dont have demography of demigoddesses. Women today (and during the time frame of many of the research studies) are considerably more than flawless decorative objects , depended upon or defined by men† (Creedon:1993,201) A good way to attract male consumers and convince where as it creates a social conflict to the female society and their need to be appealing to me, living up to the standards of these beautiful women in advertisements. Cigarettes make you â€Å"Hip† or â€Å" Interesting â€Å" â€Å"Within two avenues of advertising, tobacco and alcohol product marketing, there are a variety of layered issues surfaced in ad imagery. Gender representation and roles, values of age and class, representations of race, political and sexual orientation, fashion, sexuality, health and disease, drugs, fetishism, exoticism and colonialism are but a smattering of issues raised in these two categories of advertising. Not surprisingly, these advertisements are targeted towards a large consumer group, one might say toward society at large, since their effect is to teach children how to be as adults, to suggest to adults how to be hip, and to show seniors how hip they once were and could still be. This is not to say that all groups are pictured in these advertisements. But all groups can have associations through them, wanting to be like those consuming glamorously, even though reality may be that the purchasing consumer may not be of the same ethnic type, physical build, gender, or so cial status of the figure experiencing pleasure in the advertisement.†( Gender Issues in Visual Media : David Jacobs) Everyone is craving for the long lasting young hip life , so by giving the assumption that the Muriel Cigarette will grant that in a way , it will attract consumers on a wider range and age group. Every man should be masculine. The look on the man face in the Muriel advertising indicates, the mysterious , attractive guy: A way of suggesting that not only women should be attractive but men as well.† The Traditional role as ‘a man as masculine and the women as feminine is constantly reinforced in Advertising. To attract consumers as the cigar will make them more attractive to women , and that these cigars will enhance his look-wise role in the society. Men are dominant over women. Males are depicted as ‘authority figures in 60% of commercials. Women were used in 21% of Radio Advertising for voice overs.(Ref) In this Cigar the dominance of the male character is shown by the use of the slogan â€Å"blow in her face and shell follow you anywhere â€Å" its giving the male the suggestion of empowerment over the women and by that its combing both the stereotype of the dominance of the male and the sexual aspect of female , concluding by the abidance of the female to the male . Not to mention the cultural paradigm this advertising was published at 1970, where women still didnt have their voice empowered over the media . A way to attract male consumer into giving them the suggestion that these cigar will give you the dominance over women , and that will follow you around . Conclusion: â€Å"It must be said that without advertising we would have a far different nation, and one that would be much the poorer-not merely in material commodities, but in the life of the spirit.† (Leo Burnett on the American Association or Advertising Agencies 50th anniversary, April 20,1967) To conclude, media analysis is systematic and objective, it begins by defining a set of signs and decode them to a cultural system and interpret them to how the audience is addressed particularly in advertising (Grossberg: 1998, 156), in addition to that semiotic emphasizes that our perception of reality itself is constructed and shaped by the words and the signs we use, We are nurtured daily with the male and female stereotype so it is no wonder that we react with fear or shock or disbelief or unacceptance when we dont see the typical male or female stereotype. The Advertising Industry continues to follow rigid stereotypes because we are brought up with them and it is too difficult to exert something different than the accepted stereotype. whether we admit it or not we re using semiotics and stereotyping in every second that is passing. In addition to the fact that â€Å" There is a constant presence of media in our everyday lives , as we switch in and out , on and off , from one media space to one media connection to another , from radio , to newspaper , to telephone . From television, to Hi-fi, to Internet, in pubic, in private, alone and with others† (Silverstone, 1999, P: 6). â€Å"We cannot evade media presence, media representation. We have come to depend on our media , both printed and electronic , for pleasures and information , for comfort and security , for some sense of the continuities of experience and from time to time also for the intensities of experience†(Silverstone,1999,P:1/2) Bibliography: Books: 1. Branston, G / Stafford, R. 2006, The Medias Student Book, 4th edition, originally published on 1996, London and New York, Routledge. 2. Grossberg, L/ Wartella, E / Whitney, D, 1998, Media Making: Mass Media in a Popular Culture, London, Sage. 3. Silverstone R, 1999, Why Study the Media, London, Sage. Internet: 4. Quote Garden, Quotes about Advertising, Marya Mannes, 1964. http://www.quotegarden.com/advertising.html 5. Streeter T , University of Vermont ( 18th april/2005) http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/the_sign.html 6. Alouette, Amazing old fashioned advertisement, June 26th /2007. http://www.unsoughtinput.com/index.php/2007/06/26/amusing-old-fashioned- advertisements-cigarette-ads/ [1] Alouette, Amazing old fashioned advertisement, June 26th /2007.(Date Accessed : 31st Oct /2009) http://www.unsoughtinput.com/index.php/2007/06/26/amusing-old-fashioned-advertisements-cigarette-ads/

capital punishment :: essays research papers

What is the most effective way of punishment? Human life is very important it doesn’t mater what sex you are or what you have done. If something can be fixed then that’s what you should always try to do first. Capital punishment should not be used in today’s society. If a person is found guilty and then later on new evidence is uncovered you can’t bring that person back to life. Imprisonment should be a last resort; there are other sentencing alternatives, which can work, in the best interest of the offender and society. Most offenders that commit murder is â€Å"out of the spur of the moment† and are very unlikely to re-offend. Instead of imprisoning and offender for the rest of his life and cost the government $80,000 a year to keep them locked up we could send him to deterrence program and also to a rehabilitation program to ensure that he is mentally stable and can be released back into society closely watched, without re-offending. It would be much more convenient to spend our money on preventing the offenders from re-offending then to just send them straight to prison. Prison is an ineffective way of punishment, instead of preventing the offender from re-offending when they get out of prison it just teaches them how to be a better criminal. For example if you put a dog with other wild dogs it will become more vicious and probably mentally instable from what it has gone through but if you take the same dog and introduce him to a safe and friendly environment and teach it how it should behave I guarantee that that dog will not re-offend. The government is spending its money in the wrong area. Just because they are imprisoned it doesn’t mean that they wont re-offend when they get out. I know that most people in today’s society believe in eye for an eye and most victims want the offender to suffer like they did but revenge is never the way to go. Revenge is not part of the law system. The aims of punishment are:  · To punish the offender in a just way  · To help with rehabilitation  · To stop the offender from re-offending  · To protect the community What I have suggested above covers all of four criteria’s and not only that I believe it to be a more

Differences in One?s Own and One?s Partner?s Perceptions of Social Skills as a Function of Attachment Style :: essays research papers

Differences in One’s Own and One’s Partner’s Perceptions of Social Skills as a Function of Attachment Style Researchers / Experimenters: Laura K. Guerrero and Susanne M. Jones Goal or Purpose of the Study: To extend research and theory on the relations between attachment style and social skill To gain a clearer picture of how the intersection of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   models of self and others associates with different social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   skills by testing for attachment-style differences across   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bartholomew’s four-category conceptualization of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   attachment Guide Questions: Are there differences in attachment style that relate to how people recognize their own social skills, specifically in emotional expressivity, emotional control, emotional sensitivity, social expressivity, social control, and social sensitivity? Do people recognize their partners’ social skills (emotional expressivity, emotional control, emotional sensitivity, social expressivity, social control, and social sensitivity) differently as a function of their partners’ self-reported attachment styles? Theories or Models: ATTACHMENT THEORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attachment theory provides a useful framework for studying differences in social skills. This theory states that people develop different attachment styles as a result of interactions with significant others, beginning with their interactions with a primary giver which was said to be the parents of a certain child (Bowlby, 1969).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attachment styles are modes of social interaction that reflect how people view themselves and others (Bartholomew, 1990). Bartholomew’s (1990, 1993) conceptualization of attachment style entails crossing two theoretically-derived dimensions: a mental mode of self (based on whether a person has an internalized sense of self-worth) and a mental model of others (based on whether a person sees involvement with others to be rewarding). When these dimensions are crossed, four unique attachment styles emerge: secure (positive models of both self and others), dismissive (positive model of self, negative of others), fearful (negative models of both self and others), and preoccupied (negative model of self, positive model of others).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secure individuals are confident that others will like and accept them. They are also comfortable with closeness and experience relatively few interpersonal problems. Dismissive individuals are confident and self-sufficient, but to the point that they often reject interaction with others, and see relationships as both unrewarding and unnecessary. These individuals usually place a premium on activities related to work or self-fulfillment rather than on close relationships with others. In contrast, fearful individuals would like to have close relationships with others, but they worry that they will be rejected or hurt. These individuals generally have low self-esteem and experience considerable social anxiety when interacting with others. Differences in One?s Own and One?s Partner?s Perceptions of Social Skills as a Function of Attachment Style :: essays research papers Differences in One’s Own and One’s Partner’s Perceptions of Social Skills as a Function of Attachment Style Researchers / Experimenters: Laura K. Guerrero and Susanne M. Jones Goal or Purpose of the Study: To extend research and theory on the relations between attachment style and social skill To gain a clearer picture of how the intersection of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   models of self and others associates with different social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   skills by testing for attachment-style differences across   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bartholomew’s four-category conceptualization of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   attachment Guide Questions: Are there differences in attachment style that relate to how people recognize their own social skills, specifically in emotional expressivity, emotional control, emotional sensitivity, social expressivity, social control, and social sensitivity? Do people recognize their partners’ social skills (emotional expressivity, emotional control, emotional sensitivity, social expressivity, social control, and social sensitivity) differently as a function of their partners’ self-reported attachment styles? Theories or Models: ATTACHMENT THEORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attachment theory provides a useful framework for studying differences in social skills. This theory states that people develop different attachment styles as a result of interactions with significant others, beginning with their interactions with a primary giver which was said to be the parents of a certain child (Bowlby, 1969).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attachment styles are modes of social interaction that reflect how people view themselves and others (Bartholomew, 1990). Bartholomew’s (1990, 1993) conceptualization of attachment style entails crossing two theoretically-derived dimensions: a mental mode of self (based on whether a person has an internalized sense of self-worth) and a mental model of others (based on whether a person sees involvement with others to be rewarding). When these dimensions are crossed, four unique attachment styles emerge: secure (positive models of both self and others), dismissive (positive model of self, negative of others), fearful (negative models of both self and others), and preoccupied (negative model of self, positive model of others).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secure individuals are confident that others will like and accept them. They are also comfortable with closeness and experience relatively few interpersonal problems. Dismissive individuals are confident and self-sufficient, but to the point that they often reject interaction with others, and see relationships as both unrewarding and unnecessary. These individuals usually place a premium on activities related to work or self-fulfillment rather than on close relationships with others. In contrast, fearful individuals would like to have close relationships with others, but they worry that they will be rejected or hurt. These individuals generally have low self-esteem and experience considerable social anxiety when interacting with others.

Slavery as an Attack on Domestic Life in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet B

Slavery as an Attack on Domestic Life in Uncle Tom's Cabin      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Compromise of 1850 included The Fugitive Slave Law, a law forcing non-slave owners in the free Northern states to return escaped slaves to their Southern masters and participate in a system they did not believe in. Jehlen notes the reaction to this cruel governmental act by stating that "[t]he nation's growing guilt and apprehension is tangible in the overwhelming response to Uncle Tom's Cabin" (386). It seems hard to believe that people could find no wrong in making it a law to return humans as if they were property. In fact, Stowe wrote her most famous work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, at a most opportune time; indeed, she wrote it in response to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law.  Ã‚  Ã‚      Knowing her audience would be primarily white women, Stowe played on their feelings of uneasiness and guilt over the treatment of slaves, especially those of the Northern white women who could help with the Abolitionist movement, by introducing her readers to seemingly real characters suffering from the injustice of slavery. This can be seen even in the style in which Uncle Tom's Cabin was written; Stowe directly addresses her readers, forcing them to consider slavery from the point of view of the enslaved. "Expressive of and responsible for the values of its time, it also belongs to a genre, the sentimental novel, whose chief characteristic is that it is written by, for, and about women" (Tompkins 124-25).   Uncle Tom's Cabin is a sentimental novel; it was meant to appeal   to the unsettled emotions that existed in the reader's mind, creating and sense of   guilt and injustice, making them see how slavery destroys human lives and families. Through the introduction of ... ... of California P, 1990.   39-60.   Brown, Gillian. "Getting in the Kitchen with Dinah: Domestic Politics in Uncle Tom's Cabin." American Quarterly 36 (Fall 1984):   503-523.   Davidson, Kathy N. "Preface: No more separate spheres!" American Literature 70   (September 1998):   443-454.   Jehlen, Myra. "The Family Militant: Domesticity Versus Politics in Uncle Tom's Cabin." Criticism 31 (Fall 1989):   383-400.   MacKethan, Lucinda H. "Domesticity in Dixie: The Plantation Novel and Uncle Tom's Cabin." Haunted Bodies: Gender and Southern Texts. Ed. Anne Goodwyn Jones and Susan V. Donaldson. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1997.   223-239.   Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.   Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.   Slavery as an Attack on Domestic Life in Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet B Slavery as an Attack on Domestic Life in Uncle Tom's Cabin      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Compromise of 1850 included The Fugitive Slave Law, a law forcing non-slave owners in the free Northern states to return escaped slaves to their Southern masters and participate in a system they did not believe in. Jehlen notes the reaction to this cruel governmental act by stating that "[t]he nation's growing guilt and apprehension is tangible in the overwhelming response to Uncle Tom's Cabin" (386). It seems hard to believe that people could find no wrong in making it a law to return humans as if they were property. In fact, Stowe wrote her most famous work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, at a most opportune time; indeed, she wrote it in response to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law.  Ã‚  Ã‚      Knowing her audience would be primarily white women, Stowe played on their feelings of uneasiness and guilt over the treatment of slaves, especially those of the Northern white women who could help with the Abolitionist movement, by introducing her readers to seemingly real characters suffering from the injustice of slavery. This can be seen even in the style in which Uncle Tom's Cabin was written; Stowe directly addresses her readers, forcing them to consider slavery from the point of view of the enslaved. "Expressive of and responsible for the values of its time, it also belongs to a genre, the sentimental novel, whose chief characteristic is that it is written by, for, and about women" (Tompkins 124-25).   Uncle Tom's Cabin is a sentimental novel; it was meant to appeal   to the unsettled emotions that existed in the reader's mind, creating and sense of   guilt and injustice, making them see how slavery destroys human lives and families. Through the introduction of ... ... of California P, 1990.   39-60.   Brown, Gillian. "Getting in the Kitchen with Dinah: Domestic Politics in Uncle Tom's Cabin." American Quarterly 36 (Fall 1984):   503-523.   Davidson, Kathy N. "Preface: No more separate spheres!" American Literature 70   (September 1998):   443-454.   Jehlen, Myra. "The Family Militant: Domesticity Versus Politics in Uncle Tom's Cabin." Criticism 31 (Fall 1989):   383-400.   MacKethan, Lucinda H. "Domesticity in Dixie: The Plantation Novel and Uncle Tom's Cabin." Haunted Bodies: Gender and Southern Texts. Ed. Anne Goodwyn Jones and Susan V. Donaldson. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1997.   223-239.   Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.   Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.  

Boston’s Central Artery Project Essay

Boston’s Central Artery Project undertook a massive-large scale operation to shift their highway underground. This project was named ‘The Big Dig’ due to the large scale drilling to make tunnels that could support highway like traffic and be open all year round. Due to its large scale operations, the construction required a lot of investment that could only be funded by issuing bonds. This paper describes the calculation for the bond to make it successful for the construction to be viable. Methods The case gives some important information that will help in completing this problem. The cost of the bond is given as 15 Billion while the interest rate to be charged is given as 5%. Since most bonds have a semi-annual interest payments, this bond’s value will be calculated on this value as well. What we need to find is the cost for the bond to be returned and the total interest payments over the life of the bond till its maturity. With the sum of these two figures, we will get the total cost the government has incurred on this project. After this is we just need to calculate how many cars would pass from that highway in thirty years and then we will divide the sum of the costs by the total number of cars passed in thirty years to get the exact value at which the project will break-even. Results The result from the calculations driven by dividing the total cost to be returned by the number of cars in 30 years shows that a toll price of $17. 123 should be charged to break-even the cost for the whole financing operation. Recommendations The toll price is too high if we calculate the expected life of the highway to be 30 years (same as the finance life). However, in reality the highway’s life would be much greater than 30 years. Approximately the life is expected to be 50 years at least. Considering this factor, the answer would differ and would come to be around $10. However another factor to consider would be the increase in the traffic in the future that would further reduce the price of the toll. However at the moment this price is too high and would need to be brought down to allow the motorists to travel via this route.

America’s Failing War on Drugs and the Culture of Incarceration

For over a century, America has waged a failing war on drugs even as it feeds a cultural apathetic and underground acceptance of drug and alcohol use. The views of the dominate group have placed blame on society’s ills on the evils of rampant drug use throughout the past few hundred years, which have given way to a practice of outlawing , persecution, and imprisonment. Such a view has led to the overflow of our state’s prisons, the race to build even more, and need to fund a culture of imprisonment that has a difficult time in trying to figure out if it wants to help the addicted person, or continue to try and fund a gluttonous prison machine. We will look at some of the causes for the failed war on drugs, and some of the consequences if our society continues to ignore the need to help the addict, or simply lock them away. America’s failing War on Drugs and the Culture of Incarceration America has always had an underlying culture of drug use with even many of the harder drugs, like cocaine and heroin, being legal up into the early 1900’s, and drugs like methamphetamine and MDMA, or ecstasy, being legal well into the 20th century. Even one of the most invasive drugs of our culture, alcohol, is widely advertised and taken to be a norm of American culture, and prescription drugs like Vicodin and Oxycontin are used by millions legally every day (Brecher, E. M. , n. d. ). However, while alcohol as been able to enjoy its place as an accepted part of the American lifestyle, drug use of the illicit kind has been steadily demonized, criminalized, and used as a means to incarcerate an ever growing number of people, most often minorities and the poor who are unable to afford outside representation. (Steiker, C. S. 2011) It has created an industry and culture of incarceration dependant on keeping certain drugs illegal, and drug use a felonious criminal act, as those in the industry of building prisons and providing prison services, along with many in law enforcement, continue to lobby state and federal government to keep up overzealous laws on drug use, even laws on drugs proven to be less dangerous than alcohol, such as marijuana, which have come to be quite profitable to all involved. The extent of the problem with this unsuccessful war on drugs includes millions of non violent offenders losing parts of their lives, many sentenced to terms in the tens of years under mandatory sentencing, some simply for no more a heinous crime as first time possession of a small amount of marijuana or crack cocaine. The ability to get federal help for school as well as other federal help programs, to engage in certain basic liberties and rights afforded to all Americans by the Bill of Rights, such as the right to vote, or the right to bear arms, are taken away and either incredibly hard to get back, or all but impossible. Furthermore, even when they have finished paying society for their crime, they are still haunted by the deed whenever they look for work, unable to get jobs because of felony convictions, relegating them to jobs of much lower pay and status, even though they themselves may have the education and experience to fulfill jobs of a much higher caliber. (McVay, D. , Schiraldi, V. , & Zeidenburg, J. 2004) This process of ‘tough on drugs’ prevention and incarceration keeps the chemically dependent in a vicious cycle where, unable to get help for their addictions and help for success after paying their ‘dues’, their only outcome lies in a repetitive sequence of drug use, bigger crimes to support themselves, and longer imprisonment, in a culture of poverty and incarceration. The outcome is broken hopes, broken dreams, broken families – broken individuals with broken lives. (McVay, D. Schiraldi, V. , & Zeidenburg, J. , 2004) If you are not one of these individuals, the problem extends to you – in that it is your tax dollars going to pay for the unsuccessful but profitable war on drugs. Prisoners do not pay for their incarceration – the state and federal government does. The American tax payers pay for housing, food, clothing in both state and federal as well as private prisons, and supervision of these mostly non-violent drug offenders, both inside and outside prison. The tax payer provides the funds for local, state, and federal law enforcement to run their stings, and train their drug dogs and sting operatives, except in the off chance that they intercept a large amount of drug money, or take possession of larger drug dealers properties and vehicles bought with drug money, but rarely are these items sold at value. The burden to pay falls on the state and you, the tax payer, and the state is running out of money to spend on incarcerating an ever growing number of non-violent, drug related prisoners. McVay, D. , Schiraldi, V. , & Zeidenburg, J. , 2004) THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Causes While many drugs enjoyed a period of legalization, eventually most drugs have come to find a place as a scapegoat for many of society’s ills, from poverty, unemployment and homelessness, to rape, murder, and reasons to discriminate certain races based on a stereotypical link to a certain drug. (Steiker, C. S. 2011) At one time even alcohol was a major scapegoat for societal problems, but its strong history and presence in Euro-ethnic culture made it difficult to abstain from for many, and when it was shown that prohibition did nothing to stop many of the problems attributed to it and had actually caused an increase in criminal activity and dangerous binge drinking, it was repealed after 13 years, with much celebration. (Brecher, E. M. , n. d. Accordingly in this day and age, some people are coming to the realization that simply outlawing drugs, making harsh laws to imprison or remove people who are caught in possession of illicit drugs, is doing nothing to contribute to lessening any of the problems attributed to them. In fact, even while we see a decrease in overall crime, we can still see an increase in certain criminal drug activities meant to supply a non-declining need for narcotics, and an ever increasing bill that makes many law makers choose between other programs to help society, or to pay for the rising cost to lock up more and more drug offenders. However, it is still much easier to demonize a drug and the user for problems in society, and we can see that today for instance, as we deal with the problem of unemployment, and the desire of some to legalize marijuana, even for medical purposes. Legalization happens to be a position many of the 99% Occupier groups stand for, but many opponents counter that it’s the drug use of many of those protesters that contribute to their unemployment, and that making medical marijuana legal is just a way for them to continue to get high, but legally. (Bickman, J. , n. d. ) Consequently, many opponents also see drug use as proof f the moral decline of America, and that along with moral ills like gay marriage and abortion, contribute to the fall of our society from its once lofty heights back in the early and mid 1900’s, where homosexuality and drug use were more hidden, but no less prevalent. To this we add the common practice of giving drug possession and distribution large manda tory sentences, some of which show the disparity in the dominant class’s belief in certain drug use being characteristic of certain class or racial groups, or that some drugs are much more dangerous than others, even though science and common sense has told us otherwise. One can only need to take a look at the number of people in jail and prison for marijuana, which is almost benign in its danger when compared to a legal drug such as alcohol, or the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine that was once 100 to 1, or the same penalty for 1 gram of crack cocaine as for 100 grams of powdered cocaine, now down to a mere 18 to 1, with the relation that crack is mostly use by the inner city African American minority, and powdered cocaine used more by the affluent, white dominant suburban group. Amar, V. D. , n. d. ) One area that is sorely underfunded, and has become a pathway to a ‘college of criminality’, is the juvenile justice system. In a 2005, five year study by the National Center on Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the report found that 1. 9 million of the 2. 4 million juveniles arrested over a 5 year period had substance abuse and addiction problems, but that only 68,600 of them received any substance abuse help. Many of those arrested were for violent crimes, however drug use played a huge part in their behavior, and it isn’t hard to take these results into the adult arena, with the finding among adults arrested who were 18 years or older, 64 percent had used drugs or alcohol when they were 17 or younger. One may correctly assume that juveniles who initiate drug and alcohol use and become arrested, and are given incarceration instead of treatment, have a greater chance of growing up to become adults who engage in criminal and drug using behavior. Brown University, 2005) Consequences The consequences of continuing the past policies of the war on drug can be seen today, there is no need to wait on verification or speculation. We can see the ever increasing number of adult and juvenile offenders incarcerated for minor drug offences, as well as those receiving large sentences for other crimes where drugs were involved. We can see the cost and the burden this increasing prison population has to the state and its tax payers, and the struggle lawmakers have to either increase taxes, lower penalties for possession for drug use, or release large numbers of un-treated, chemically dependent, prison taught and economically disadvantaged prisoners because they simply cannot afford to hold them any longer. Without changing the laws, addicts and other chemically dependent users are first convicted and then given treatment. As we already discussed in the beginning, the conviction staying on their arrest record for years, or even permanently, meaning that even after possible successful treatment, the recovering addict is still treated like a pariah when looking for work and an in-depth background check becomes part of the job seeking process. (McVay, D. , Schiraldi, V. , & Zeidenburg, J. , 2004)Without any help or hope, the convicted and untreated addict’s only outlook is a continuing life of drug use, and criminal activity to support them. In states like Kentucky, that have seen an increase in its prison population quadruple over the past two decades, looking into new programs that would have offenders volunteer to enter a six to nine month treatment program in jail, rather than a one to two year program in prison that usually carries a five to ten year sentence along with it, would save the state tax payers millions of dollars a year. In Kentucky alone, it costs $500 million dollars a year to house some 22,000 prisoners, 80 percent of them being non-violent drug offenders. The state, like most others, has seen a steady rise in incarcerations with one in 31 Americans behind bars, when Twenty-five years ago, the number was 1 in 77. (Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 2009) Still, even with such approaches meant to curb the costs of incarcerating convicted addicts, the fact remains that little is being done to reduce the number of people being convicted in the first place, although the offering of more resources to people who are in their first phases of being caught up by law enforcement due to their addictions is a more effective way to start. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 2010) Every year it becomes more and more evident, that our countries failing war on drugs and its policy to want to simply incarcerate those to mandatory sentences for even non-lethal drug such as marijuana, the rising cost to investigate, arrest, persecute and house a population of people who show no signs of serious drug use decline, can only mean that newer policies to treat the ad dicted, rather than lock them away, are the right way to go if our country wants to fix the problem of our ever increasing culture of incarceration. (McVay, D. , Schiraldi, V. , & Zeidenburg, J. , 2004)