Friday, September 29, 2017

Lombroso's Theory Essay

An adherent of Lombroso’s theory would make quite offensive to some groups of people policy recommendations with regards to crime. It is apparent that supporter of Lombroso’s ideas would initiate crime policies like the ones suggested by Canadian professor Rushton: they would try to link crime with race. (Rushton, 1987) Racial explanations of differences in crime rates are of course hardly new; many criminologists will read Professor Rushton’s statements with a sense of déjà vu.

The attempt to relate crime and race clearly echoes the writings of Cesare Lombroso, both in method and conclusion. Ironically, given Rushton’s research focusing on the head-sizes of different races, Lombroso was also preoccupied with the study of offenders’ skulls. His primary research tool was a craniometer. In his instructions regarding the physical examination of criminals, Lombroso notes: “careful examination of this part (the skull) is of the utmost importance” (Lombroso, 1968).

Failure to distinguish a causal from an associative relationship permeates Lombroso’s writings. For example, in the chapter devoted to racial influences on crime in his major work, he makes statements such as the following: “I have found that in the departments where dark hair predominates the figures for murder reach 12.6%, while the light haired departments give only 6.3%” (Lombroso, 1968).

The reader should not interpret this as an example of mere muddleheaded empiricism on Lombroso’s part, the product of unscientific but benign inquisitiveness. Lombroso’s biological theory has a danger common to all such theories -- it led him to misinterpret data and to write statements that are shocking even to today’s reader, inured to racialism by the events of the 20th century. For example, Lombroso notes that gypsies are: “the living example of a whole race of criminals and have all the passions and all the vices of criminals.” (Lombroso, 1968) He then accuses them of all manner of vice, including cannibalism.

The tendency of craniometricians and criminal anthropologists to fit any finding into their explanatory models of crime is shown by their reactions to “anomalies” in brain size: “The large size of many criminal brains was a constant source of bother to craniometricians and criminal anthropologists. Broca (the famous French craniometrician) tended to dismiss it with his claim that sudden death by execution precluded the diminution that long bouts of disease produced in many honest men. (Haskell, 1993).

Broca also argued that brain size increased with the advancement of European civilization. When he found that the brain size of people buried in common graves in the 18th century was, on the average, larger than those buried in the 19th century, he argued that the earlier sample included higher status individuals (Haskell, 1993).

There are some important lessons to be learned from research on race and crime. First, it is clear that the news media are particularly sensitized to controversial research. Most empirical work in criminology is at once more substantive and less controversial. Accordingly, it escapes the attention of the news media and thereafter the public. Second, the importance of addressing the methodological shortcomings of a genetic explanation of crime cannot be over-stated. Although Professor Rushton has steered clear of speculating about the policy implications of a theory linking race and crime, Lombroso was not so reticent.

In his work we find the following: “When we realize that there exist beings, born criminals, who reproduce the instincts common to the wildest savages and . . . are destined by nature to injure others . . . we feel justified in demanding their extermination (Lombroso, 1968).

People who accept the view that variations in crime rates reflect genetic factors may also embrace an underlying message about crime prevention. There is an unmistakable message conveyed by a view asserting a race-crime relationship predicated on genetic differences. Social programs aim to eradicate educational, social, and economic inequities. These efforts can only be undermined by statements stressing the importance of genetic factors in determining criminality.

The real issue is whether we regard the evidence on the persistence of family problems and the continuity of troubling behavior from childhood to adult life as indicative of predispositions that are largely unrelated to their social context and that we are virtually powerless to alter. For many conservative writers, the dark conclusion to be dawn from this evidence is that there are sharp limits to what we can do for either troubled children or the troubled adults they often become. That conclusion lends support to the ever more intensive search for new methods of screening and incapacitation and to the simultaneous neglect of policies to reduce economic and racial disadvantage.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Uses of Statistical Information Paper

In the contemporary world information plays increasingly more important role, but it is particularly important in military actions and database. Obviously, statistical information is one of the key points of military success of a state, an army or even a particular military combat unit. In such a situation the statistical information gathered may be crucial for the success, especially in the situation when technologies achieved unparalleled results and the more information is known about a combat military unit the less chances for success it has and in contrast the more information this unit possesses about the enemy the more chances to succeed it has. In such a situation it is very important to clearly understand what types of statistical information is needed for a military combat unit in order to achieve its goals.

First of all, a few words should be said about theoretical approaches to gathering statistical information, among which may be named such approaches as Bayesian statistics, Dempster-Shafer, fuzzy logic, rule-based inference, rough set theory, statistical capacity theory. These theories and theoretical approaches may vary but there are some key elements each approach has to take into consideration. Notably it is of paramount importance to gather statistical information in order to make it systematic and unified and consequently easy to use in case of a military combat unit has to undertake some actions. In order to achieve such a result, it is necessary to provide good and comprehensible data presentation, than data have to be encoded and transmitted. The next step implies pooling of diverse data into a coherent picture, and finally measurement of the informativeness of both data and fusion system. In such a way statistical information undergoes four basic stages.

How Classical Conditioning Procedures Help to Potty Train Toddlers

My observation of particular learning process (toddler’s potty training) was supported by a diverse theoretical knowledge about classical conditioning procedures. I was able to observe ‘potty training’ activities initiated both by parents and child care professionals. The majority of professionals believe that children's toilet training should be initiated after 24 months of age, while the majority of parents believe training should begin before 24 months. This parental practice is of concern in light of conviction that most children do not fall within the readiness parameters until 24 months of age.

The best example of how classical conditioning can be applied to potty training toddlers is bedwetting alarm – a device that senses wetness and starts to ring if the child urinates in the bed. The child wakes up, and thus perceives that alarm is bad, attributing this meaning to going to toilet in bed. In order to strengthen the effects of the classical conditioning, a child should be explained that the alarm is used to help them wake up when they need to go to toilet.


Some parents and professionals may not be waiting for children to achieve a sufficient level of maturity before training. Initially, the large discrepancy between parent and professional beliefs seemed alarming. Yet, some evidence suggests that the gap between actual parent and professional practices may not be as great. When parents were asked how they trained their children, their responses were more similar to the professionals'.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Forensic Psychologists and their Role in Child Custody Decisions

People started to talk about forensic psychology in the 21st century as soon as the testimonies of psychologists were used in courts in order to help the juries to come to the correct conclusion and come out with the clear verdict. Psychologists do contribute to identifying competence to standard trial, work with criminal profiling and play a great role in child custody cases.

Child custody disputes are rather sophisticated as the main decision concerns either removing or not the child from his/her home and from parents. Certainly there have to be provided a lot of evidences, like mental illness of a parent, lack of necessary care for child and so on. In order to collect all the necessary information, interviews, standardized tests, observations of interactions between parent and child are used. Usually such kinds of trials are emotionally hard.

Indian Philosophy of Jainism

Introduction
Jainism, stemming from a succession of 24 Jinas (“conquerors”) is now a religious belief with followers constituting a minority in modern India and scattered patches in the United States, Europe, East Asia and other places. This religion is notable for its ascetic tradition (Shraman) and a set of specific religious beliefs and concepts, originating out of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Through self-control and abstention, Jains (followers of Jainism) seek to achieve moksha, liberation from the rebirth cycle. Like most religions, Jainism is grounded in a set of philosophical concepts that form a coherent whole and provide a normative framework for the behaviour of Jains.

1. Reincarnation, Moksha and Self-Control
The fundamental idea that underlies Jaina epistemiology is that “human beings are in a position to be omniscient and that this view is based on the teaching of omniscient beings who have taught the basic ideas after having become enlightened through a strict ascetic discipline” (Soni 2000:369). The omniscient beings are described as "Jinas" (“conquerors”), and their list ends with Pārśva and Buddha’s contemporary Mahāvīra. The teaching of Jinas is supposed to be authoritative to all other Jaina believers and is taken as the foundation for any concepts in ontology, epistemiology, or ethics. Jinas are also called Tīrthaṃkaras ("ford-makers"), with the metaphor alluding to the Jinas helping unite the two sides of the life’s stream, the mundane and the godly one.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Essay: Social Psychology in the Media

One of the most recent and important events in the media is certainly the issue of abuse, family/dating violence and rape. I personally see these events as oftentimes discussed in mass media and for this reason will use them in this essay. Having searched the articles database I found some of them that all depict the following topics.


One of the most important elements in the articles related to violence and abuse was the statistic represented by five key points to consider when working with school age children. One learnt that witnessing domestic violence by children typically means that domestic violence will pass from one generation to another. I learnt the sad statistics of abused females in US high schools and those who knew at least one person abused by her sexual partner. Here writers strive to associate the reader with the other victims of domestic violence or rape, the psychological technique initiated to create emotional bondage with the read information.

Homodiegetic Narration

The first-person narration of “The Collector” by John Fowles and “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley is one of the features that make these stories so outstanding. It is about having a chance of looking into the brains of the protagonists, and trying to see the complete picture of what happened.

Both stories are not traditional in the manner of the text construction. Both Fowles and Shelley use uncommon schemes: he, using both protagonists to tell the story from their perspective, one after another, as if summing it all up, and she, using a story-within-a-story (sort of “wrapped” into it).

The “Collector” reveals the characters of two main characters, who tell the same story in a row, so that the reader could see what really happened, and was they felt about it. Frederick (though he preferred to be called Ferdinand, but was called Caliban anyway) Clegg’s part of the kidnapping and the life of Miranda in the sellar of his detached house is quite sketchy, if the reader reads the whole story. He is the one to explain all the initial causes and intentions, he is the only one to reveal his own way of thinking and feeling. Miranda’s point of view rarely coincides with what he thinks, but that’s what makes the picture more complete. Both of them are homodiegetic narrators, for they are not only telling the story, they are a part of it, the main part.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Essay on Setting Up a Company in Colombia

Introduction
Whenever organizing a new company it’s necessary to consider all factors that might influence work of a future company, it’s important to think over every small detail in order for everything to go exactly the way in which it was planned. Our goal is to set up a wholesaling company selling textiles to small Colombian companies. To do that we’ll buy raw materials from Indian company and than distribute it in Colombia. To reach success we’ll have to develop our own strategy of business. The first stage of the future strategy will be of course getting to know about the country and its peculiarities.

Country factors
As it has been mentioned before, first of all it’s necessary to get to know about the country. To begin with we’ll speak about some basic facts of the country. Colombia or the Republic of Columbia is situated in northwestern part of South America, which became independent in 1810. It’s a republic with three separate branches of power. The population of Colombia is 42,954,279 people. Speaking about economy of the country, it’s necessary to say that this country has never been characterized as a country with stable economy. Periods of growth were always replaced by periods of decline. At the moment the economic situation of Colombia is improving due to strict governmental control of state budget and export increase. By the way Colombia was always famous for export of coffee, gold, bananas, coal, and petroleum. In general the economic situation of Colombia started to improve in 1993, because at that time industrial and agricultural sector of economy demonstrated increase in production. In 2001 GDP averaged about $87 billion, while in 2005 it was $303.1 billion. The increase in economy was caused by several reasons, among which are growing prices for coffee and international investments of the USA.

Now let’s say a couple of words about culture of Colombia. The official language of Colombia is Spanish. As for religion the majority of the population of Colombia are Roman Catholic (about 90%), the rest are Protestants (10%). Speaking about education in Colombia, it’s necessary to note that 92.5% of population are literate people. This figure has grown from 88% in 1987. There are several reason of increasing number of literate people, such as urbanization of the country, increasing funding of government and others. Social structure of population is represented by four classes, such as upper class -5%, middle class-20%, lower class-50% and the masses- 25%. This structure was given according to statistics in 1980. In 2001 estimated 59% of the population were below poverty line. Classes in Colombia are determined by life-style, occupation, income and education. And people are very much concerned to what class they belong.

What Makes Us Different?

There is no distinct definition of human yet. Usually it is defined through inexplicable terms or through negation. This happens because there are still a lot of doubts concerning this topic and there is no definite answer to the question about the peculiar qualities and characteristics, which distinguish human creatures from all the others. When we think about characteristics which distinguish us from animals intelligence is the first thing which comes to our mind. This characteristic doesn’t stand critics if we study the problem deeper. There are retarded people with very low IQ level but they are not less humans than those with high results on IQ tests. From the other side there are animals, like whales, dolphins and chimpanzees, for example, who have high IQ but this doesn’t approach them to humans. There are many other proves, which show that it’s not intelligence, which differentiates us from other creatures. Those, who call environment among the main reasons, which help to form unique human characteristics, are right only partially. It’s a proven fact that environment plays an extremely important role in forming the human identity of the person. Parents and surrounding give children basic knowledge about the world and models of behavior. But from the other side, the series of experiments when different animals were grown up in the same environment as humans show that these conditions were not enough to make them humans. Till recently scientists claimed that humans had a unique structure of the brain and no other animals possessed it but latest researches proved vice verse. There are animals that have brain even bigger than humans do and there are so many characteristics of human brain, which are alike with the ones of the animals that it’s impossible to consider brain structure to be the main distinguishing feature of humanness. Memory and attention also can not be exceptional human characteristics as they are peculiar to many kinds of animals. Behavior and even social behavior also isn’t the prerogative of the men only.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Intensive Supervision Essay

It is believed that the providing of the increased supervision for serious offenders can both relieve the prison overcrowding and decrease the risks of the second offend in community. Intensive supervision includes the increased contracts with the offender, random urinalysis, home electronic monitoring, treatment agency follow ups, employment and home visits. The purpose of this supervision is to rehabilitate the high risk offenders such as community correction’s graduates, predatory sex offenders and hate group members and minimize the risk of their second offense in the community – not giving them the second chance.

Intermediate Punishments
Intermediate punishments were introduced as the form of intermediate sanctions which is more severe than traditional probation but less restrictive than incarceration. Initially, intermediate punishment were introduced as the mean to deal with the prison overcrowding, however, today intermediate punishments are used for those offenders who are due to their modest threat to society should not be in the prison. Intermediate punishments play an important rehabilitation role which is more valuable than the prison diversion and cost savings.

A Time to Kill Essay

The movie is a screen version of the novel by John Grisham that came on screen seven years after the book was published. The plot follows the novel pretty strictly, however, still contains some new characters and additional ideas.

A Time to Kill is the story of the father of 10-year-old black girl that was beaten and raped by two rednecks. Both abusers were caught and stood in were to stand in front of the court that was likely to find them not guilty. Instead of sitting and waiting for the court decision the Viet veteran takes his M 16 and executes his own justice by gunning down both of the abusers in front of dozens of people right in the court building.

Being arrested he chooses white lower who starts his defense trying to prove that the double murder was the result of temporary madness. However, it is Carl Lee Hailey (the father) who makes jury unlikely to believe that it is really so.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Project Management Essay Sample

GM Locomotive should have provided for certain required things in order for the project to be success instead of failure. Making sure the right talent and knowledge is available is crucial to the effort and to assure the best possible outcome to the project. There are many other factors that could have affected the success or failure of GM Locomotive project. Some of these are the understanding of the data itself within the existing environment, definitions of data elements and how they are used.

Documentation of the existing system must be available, researched and understood by system analysts, as well as other project members such as the business analysts. The project must also be well organized. The systems, if more than one is affected, must be identified and made ready for the migration effort. This involves identifying the systems, current operating software, types of data storage systems, such as flat files or relational database structures.

Evolution of Russian Architecture

One should start by saying that Russia over the period from XVIII to the XX century would feature distinct architects who were supported by certain Russian monarchs. As a result Russia, and primarily the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg were incorporate numerous design styles that would range from Baroque to neoclassical, to neo-Byzantine to traditional Russian styles. In the following essay I will speak about some of the historical timelines and the development of certain architectural trends, their evolution, major architects and the major masterpieces of that time. Numerous educated findings together with my personal opinion will be presented on the matter.

In 1721, the Russian tsar, Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) would choose to move the capital of Russia from Moscow to St.Petersburg so that it lies in the close proximity to the western Europe, namely Holland, which Peter liked the most. St. Petersburg would be built and designed by Peter in the unique Dutch style called Petrine baroque. The major architectural masterpieces of that time were the monuments called Peter and Paul Cathedral, Menshikov Palace and the Menshikov Tower (Brumfield, 2001, p. 250).

Russian Genre Painting Essay

At first it should be said that the 19th century Russian art constituted a part of the world art and culture and it absorbed recent trends that were particularly popular in the world in that epoch. In such a way the current situation in the world art and culture had a significant impact on the development of art in Russia. Like many artists in different countries of the world Russian painters had their own organization and many of them were the members of Academy of Arts in ST. Petersburg, founded in 1757. The Academy played a key role in the development of many artists and shaped their styles, especially classicist that was extremely popular in Europe in those days.

Speaking about the legacy of outstanding Russian artists of the 19th century, it is necessary to point out that it is characterized by such works as: “The Portrait of Maria Pototskaya; Her Sister Sophia and Ten-years-old Ethiopian Girl” (1835-1836) created in romantic style by Orest Kiprensky, the portraits of prince Oleander Mechchersky (1849) and Semion Lichonin (1841) by Karl Brullov. These portraits are characterized by great emotional power and skillfully reveal model’s soul.

One of the most outstanding Russian painters of the mid-19th century, Pavel Fedotov created the tragic picture “The Gamblers” (1852), which is considered to be one of the best works characterizing natural school of painting of that epoch. The works of Nicolai Ge (The Portrait of A. Herzen – 1867) are typical for the late 19th century. The canvas of Vasily Perov, “God’s Fool” (1875-1879) shows a long figure in the snow. This work reveals great emotional power and vitality. Illya Repin plays a noble part in the Russian painting too. Among his most famous works may be named “Head of a Peasant” (1880-1883), the dramatic image of Gogol’s character in “Notes of a Mad Man”, “Poprishchin” (1882), and “St. Nicolaus of Myra Delivers the Three Innocent Men” (1889). This painting is characterized by sincerity shows people sentenced to death. Particularly interesting seems to be the work of Victor Vasnetsov “Three Tsarevnas of the Underground Kingdom” (1884) that produce great impression due to its brightly colors. This painting, being created on a theme from a Russian fairy-tale, is among the more significant and characteristic of his works.