Media and Violence in the USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media and Violence in the USA - Assignment Example This statistics is frightening; why there is so much violence in the United States and what can be done to reduce it, is a question that has puzzled governments, psychologists and social scientists. US Department of Justice figures showed that 2.8 million children (under 18) were arrested in 1997, nearly 2500 juveniles were arrested for murder, and 121000 were arrested for other violent crimes [Cantor, 2000]. Psychologists believe that seeds for attitude towards violence are sown early in life. This has resulted in many studies on the impact of TV, video, video games, and other media accessible to children at home. [Eron, 1963] and [Eron & Huesman, 1986] Huesman of University of Michigan carried out a long term study of the viewing habits of a group of children for decades, They astonishingly claimed that watching violence on television was an even more powerful factor in promoting violence than poverty, race, or parental behavior. This 1960 study followed up 11 and 22 years later and claims to show that the aggressive eight-year-olds of 1960 grew up to become even more aggressive 19- and 30-year-olds, with greater troubles-including domestic violence than their less aggressive counterparts who did not watch as much television [Eron & Huesman, 1986]. Eron & Huesman list dozens of other studies in support of their arguments that Violence on Media is harmful to children and eventually to society. [Senate Committee, 1999] reported that more than 1,000 studies on the effects of television and film violence have been done during the past 40 years. American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the National Institute of Mental Health have separately reviewed many of these studies and all of these bodies conclude television violence leads to real-world violence.

Rubber Band Model of Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rubber Band Model of Communication - Essay Example The first scholar who attempted a communication model is Aristotle. Aristotelian view of communication influenced the perspectives of communication thinkers until the mid twentieth century. In the late 1940s, and through the 1950s and 1960s, a number of new communication models were advanced, most of them preserving the basic themes of the Aristotelian perspective. Later in 1949, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver published a model that they called the "Mathematical Model of Communication." and later in 1954 he proposed an interactive model. In 1960 Berlo proposed the SMCR model. These models were considered the major linear models of communication. and Becker's Mosaic Model (1968). The others that invited attention of communication experts included the multidimensional models. The major contributions were Functional Model by Ruesch and Bateson (1951) and Transactional Model by Barnlund (1970). All these models contributed only to further the discussions and research of communication and proved different points of the communications process. (Jones & Jones, 1997) The Rubber Band Model of communication, as the term denotes uses the analogy of a rubber band. The elastic property of the rubber band is used to explain the communication process. ... The Rubber Band Model can be explained with the following diagrams. The figures Fig.1 and Fig.2 show the communication process as proposed by the Rubber Band model. Fig.1 shows a stretched rubber band. The black portion is the piece of rubber band and the dotted lines show it in the stretched position. If we consider the piece of rubber band as the message transmitted by the sender the stretched portion explains the transmission of the message. The elastic property of the rubber band can be attributed to the nature of the message, transmission process and the channel. If stretched further, the message will reach a different receiver. It requires a more elastic material (a strong rubber band or a lengthy one) to stretch to a considerable length. The process of communication is similar. If the message has to be reached to a wider audience it has to be powerful, or in other words a mediated communication has to take place which occurs only in mass communication. Similarly the stretched rubber band when released (See Fig.2) gets back to the previous destination, which also explains the feedback. Critique of the Rubber Band model of communication The Rubber Band model is a dynamic model when compared to the linear models of communication as it proves that message can be send to an intended direction. This helps to explain interpersonal communication as well as group communication. The elastic property of the rubber band and its analogy used in the model also explains the mass communication process. The model has significance as it also give explanation for the feedback in communication. The limitation of the model is that it makes the feedback compulsory. Works cited 1. Marsha Jones and Emma

Stops, Frisks, and Terry Stops Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Stops, Frisks, and Terry Stops - Research Paper Example This paper will analyze the Terry stop legal issue and its impact in the society. The paper will also look at constitutional issues that touch on the matter and the impact that they have had. Introduction The issue of stop, frisk and Terry stop is very controversial and has been debated for a long period of time. A Terry stop involves stopping of an individual by a law enforcement officer for frisking and in some cases a short detention. An individual may be stopped for frisking if they are suspected of having committed or being likely to commit a crime by a law enforcement officer. As one undergoes a Terry stop, the police officer frisks and individual (the suspect) to ensure that the officer is not in danger or other members of the public (Acker & Brody, 2012). A Terry stop is different from an arrest since it takes less time and is accompanied by less legal procedures. During a Terry Stop, a police officer usually confirm the details of the suspect and finds out whether they have a criminal record or outstanding fines or arrest warrants that have been issued against them. Groups that represent both sides of the argument present their debates which sound justified. Records of crime statistics show that there has been an increase in crimes that are committed all over the country. People all over the world feel that is up to the government to introduce measures that lead to a reduction of crime levels. Stop, frisks and Terry stops is one of the ways that was introduced by the government to try and curb crime levels all over the country. Law enforcers feel that prevention of crimes consumes fewer resources and saves more lives for minimal inconvenience if any to those that undergo the Terry stops. Discussions Stops, Frisks, and Terry Stops affect many individuals in the United States and perceptions on the government and law enforcement officers. This constitutional issue also affects the constitutional rights of individuals. Terry stop and frisk involves detent ion by police if they are suspicious that an individual has been involved in committing a crime. The Terry stop and frisk law was introduced in 1968 after the Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S 1 (1968) court decision that was made by the Supreme court in the United States. The decision also authorized the police to conduct searches on the outer garments of the suspect if they have articulable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous. The court authorized law enforcers to being able to detain an individual who they suspect is involved in committing a crime. Law enforcement officers also have the legal right to search the individual that they have detained. In some cases, the law enforcers might feel that the suspect might be in possession of a weapon, and may be planning to use in order to commit a crime. The rationale that causes the law enforcers to feel that the individual is likely to commit a crime should be reasonable. For example, a suspect might look overly nervous yet there is no evident reason why they should appear so. Such behavior might be an indication that such an individual is about to commit a crime. The law authorizes police officers to seize any form of contraband that they would find on a suspect while conducting the frisking. However there are some conditions in the frisking of the suspect (Acker & Brody, 2012). The frisking should be limited to the outer clothing of the

Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House Essay

Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House - Essay Example To enable the transfer of power smoothly from the previous president and his administrative team, Roosevelt had created a â€Å"transition team† (Coker, 2005, p. 87). While selecting people for the key administrative positions under his authority, Roosevelt was found to be concentrating on the intellectual abilities, regional representation and loyalty to him as well (Coker, 2005, p. 89). He, thus, found his people from among â€Å"Ivy League intellectuals and New York State social workers† (Digital Library, 2012). There was â€Å"an inner circle† of persons who were instrumental in his rise to the president-ship, and he took all his important decisions in consultation with this team after the election as well (Coker, 2005, p. 88). When Roosevelt declared the â€Å"New Deal† policy, its lack of strong â€Å"ideological or philosophical frame work† was attributed to the â€Å"diversity and size† of his support teams (Coker, 2005, p. 89). Roose velt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency (Coker, 2005, p. 94). The support team that... Roosevelt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory†. What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action†. The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency. The support team that he had was known as the â€Å"brain trust†. Generally, the leadership style of Roosevelt has been understood as one that â€Å"yeilds results†.The first thing that Roosevelt did after coming to office was to convene a special session of the Congress and asked the Congress a mandate for h imself to have "broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given [†¦] [him] if [†¦] [the nation] were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.". Through acting in this manner, reflecting the urgency of the situation, Roosevelt created an ambience receptive of the reforms and drastic changes that he envisaged to bring in, in all sectors.The first policy decision of Roosevelt as the president was the declaration of a â€Å"bank holiday† to cope with the financial crisis.

One page reflection essay based on experience Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

One page reflection based on experience - Essay Example ompetition instilled in us an aspect of self-confidence in all we did thus winning every match besides developing additional skills due to practising harder. This is because we aimed at ensuring retaining our position as the leading team during all games we played. Sometimes we lost, but instead of being discouraged, losing to our competitors made us go back to the drawing board to examine and analyse our weak points. By understanding where we went wrong, it became much easier to find the way forward. Competition built teamwork, which uninterruptedly lead to the success of the team. Basketball involves passing of the ball from one player to another whereby without teamwork this will not be effective because there will be aspects of unselfishness. The healthy competition in basketball instilled a winning attitude in us besides discouraging us to be out of our comfort zones. Determination and perseverance enabled us to achieve the victory we badly needed. However, initially it was not that easy on my part to join an already strong team. I had to prove my worth but with persistence not only I made it but turned to be a reliable player. Extending this aggressiveness in life, competition has always encouraged me to set higher goals than that of my competitors. Through the early sport, I learnt to admire my competitors and strive harder to beat them. Not by copying them, but by being more creative and innovative to outdo them. We should therefore embrace competition for the good values it creates in

Information technology management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Information technology management - Essay Example gement refers to the discipline that comprises of resources and approaches by which information and technology resources are managed in respect to the priorities and needs identified (Clark, 2003). The resources relied on this process include data, software programs, hardware facilities like computers, information centres and facilities as well as the staff needed to maintain and oversee these systems and processes. This paper examines the concept of information and technology in organisations and the process that go in the research and creation of products that become market leaders, creating competitive advantages for them, while consolidating their market position. In addition, it focuses on apple Inc., a company that has a technological and innovation culture in the process of creating different mobile technologies and other electronic products that it sells. Apple inc., one of the chief companies in the technological industry is a multinational American company that is headquartered in California, USA (Grady, 2009). The company’s main objectives involve designing, developing and selling various kinds of consumer electronics, online services, personal computers and softwares among others. Among the products the company is known for include the iTunes Store, Apple store, the Mac and associated line of computers and the famous iPhone smartphone. Apple Inc. was established by three people, who were Ronald Wayne, Steve Wozniak and Steve jobs in 1976 with the main objective of developing and selling personal computers (Dormehl, 2012). Later in 1977, the company was officially incorporated under the name, Apple Computer, Inc. as the company changed and shifted its focus on consumer electronics; it changed its name to Apple Inc. in 2007. Among the many technologies that Apple Inc. has developed, the iPhone was the mobile technology that gave it success in the mobile industry as at the time of its launch. Actually, the iPhone is one of the smartphones that were

Police Discretion Essay Example for Free

Police Discretion Essay Police discretion is an unwritten law meaning it is not concretely represented in the constitution or any other rules or regulations governing law enforcement. However, it is a practical part of law enforcement because there are times when sound personal judgment and decision-making becomes necessary in the process. Police discretion is highly important in situations wherein the role of rules and laws are ambiguous or inapplicable. Although unwritten in documents presenting laws, it is valid because the police is an institution granted authority and power. Moreover, law enforcement agencies are expected to abide by ethics and morality at all times when practicing police discretion. Police discretion is valid because it is exercised by an authority or power, but then it becomes steadfast and trustworthy if it is practiced within the bounds of ethics and morality. (Atherton, 2001) Herein lay judgments and criticisms regarding police discretion. Police discretion is ideally utilized to determine whether to intercede with behavior and activities. This is supposed to be the primary purpose of police discretion. (Seri, 2008) For instance, a police man happens to chance upon a man shouting at his wife in a public place. Police discretion concerns making the decision of whether to intervene in the process with considerations to privacy issues since it is a private matter between husband and wife, but since it is in public, the situation’s relation to public disturbance is not something to be disregarded. At this point, police discretion addresses the matter of whether to intervene or not. (Kelling, 1999) The fabled and fictitious source aspect of police discretion is its relation to the philosophical foundations of ethics and morality. Conflicts in the practice of police work require discretion for its resolution. However, conflicts and ambiguities do not depend on just discretion, but count on morality to frame the judgment and decision-making process in order to uphold sound preferences when carrying out decisions. Morality talks about what is right from wrong – the right, based on the rules and commandments presented by God to man. Moreover, morality talks about intention as a primary factor in determining the goodness of an action, behavior or decision. This philosophical concept builds on what police discretion is about, guiding judgments and rationalizations in order to arrive at a morally good action. (Greenawalt, 1987) Perhaps it is rational to include the mythical concept of ethics and morality in framing police discretion guidelines and policies. Controlling philosophical concepts as a means to guide police discretion practices ensure that intentions are upright and the end action of the decision is morally good. This upholds accountability and values development in the field of law enforcement. Moreover, it addresses the matter of debate regarding the negative implications of allowing law enforcement agencies freedom to make decisions in their line of industry. It eliminates the abuse of power, and shifts it to the use of police discretion conscientiously. Another purpose of police discretion is making a decision of whether to label a particular action, behavior, or activity as criminal. (Seri, 2008) Juvenile crimes are primary targets of this issue since charging children with crimes is a sensitive concern. If for instance a police man catches a minor stealing from a grocery store, police discretion is practiced to make a decision on whether to charge the child with a criminal case. Other options include giving the child a chance by advising him to not repeat the act again and then letting him go, talking with the child’s parents directly to ensure that a the negative nature of the child does not go undisciplined, turning the child over to social welfare services, and charging the child with a criminal case. The decision of what to do in this particular scenario as well as similar situations, wherein there are opportunities of making sound judgments and decisions unguided by laws, is part of police discretion. Overall, police discretion is a power granted to members of the law enforcement as a means of raising the accountability of the institution by empowering them to learning and applying sound and moral concepts that promotes progress and development in the field of law enforcement. (Seri, 2008) To delineate further the concept of police discretion, five police actions will be discussed and analyzed in order to determine the expediency of practicing police discretion and identifying whether it is reasonable or an abuse of power. Harnessing the influence of the community as an effort to promote community policing is one task that law enforcement should work on. This is reasonable as the decision to formulate a neighborhood watch program to realize the goal of community policing sustains peace, order and security in the community. This action becomes an abuse of power if members of the community are forced to help in the process of enforcing laws. Community policing should be a voluntary effort. Minors are given light sanctions for criminal activities because of their inability to think rationally and independently without guidance from people in authority. Police discretion is acceptable when it comes to adjusting the enforcement of law to a particular situation where a minor is concerned. Police discretion becomes an abuse of power if minors who are caught committing crimes are directly charged with criminal cases without reviewing the need for social work intervention, counseling, and other lighter sanctions and disciplinary actions. When it comes to police interrogation, questioning techniques is part of police discretion. Policemen are given authority to subject suspects, witnesses, and victims to interrogations. Police discretion is acceptable if questions, in whatever form or manner executed, are relevant to the case and properly carried out in the process. It becomes abuse of power if people who are being interrogated are subject to threats and hostilities, forced to answer questions, and are asked personal matters. This goes the same with searching properties to look for evidence. Police discretion is deciding what areas within the properties to search, of course with the grant of a search warrant. It becomes an abuse of power if damage is inflicted to property as a means of hostile interaction with other people. Lastly, respecting the privacy of any individual should be maintained by law enforcement agencies. Although sustaining laws requires the obtainment of truth and factual information, police work should also consider privacy of other people in order to practice police discretion ideally and not abusively.