Freedom of Speech in the Philippines Essay

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one’s opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. â€Å"Speech† is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with relatively authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms (see propaganda model) and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws even in countries seen as liberal democracies. Article III Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines specifies that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of expression. Some laws inconsistent with a broad application of this mandate are in force, however.[29] For example Certain sections of the Flag and Heraldic Code require particular expressions and prohibit other expressions Title thirteen of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines criminalizes libel and slander by act or deed (slander by deed is defined as â€Å"any act †¦ which shall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person.†), providing penalties of fine or imprisonment. In 2012, acting on a complaint by an imprisoned broadcaster who dramatised a newspaper account reporting that a particular politician was seen running naked in a hotel when caught in bed by the husband of the woman with whom he was said to have spent the night, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights ruled that the criminalization of libel violates freedom of expression and is inconsistent with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, commenting that â€Å"Defamations laws should not †¦ stifle freedom of expression† and that â€Å"Penal defamation laws should include defense of truth.† ************************************************************************* â€Å"If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.† – Noam Chomsky The freedom to express our thoughts is an important part of our individual identity. When we talk and write about our opinions we are contributing ideas and participating in society. Freedom of expression is covered in article 19 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights: â€Å"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers†. Freedom of expression is widely acknowledged as a basic human right that should be available to all, playing a crucial role in a fair and open society. Many countries and organizations place limits on freedom of expression. These limitations can be a way of controlling people. Restricting voting rights, censoring speech and art and outlawing specific religious and political groups are some of the tools governments have used to control public opposition. Even societies that consider themselves free and democratic suppress opposing views. Consider your local newspaper; although you might expect objectivity, if you were to analyze the content, you might not find a variety of informed opinions and critiques. Editorial and news writers may be influenced by their own political views. In some places, reporters are trained to manipulate or omit information that could harm those in power. Should there be no limits on freedom of expression? If we are entitled to express ourselves freely we must accept that others will express ideas very different from our own. This might include ideas that offend and possibly even hurt us. Hate speech attacks people based upon such distinctions as race, religion and gender. Should we censor ideas that damage and promote cruelty? The content of a book, a song or a film may cross societal lines of morality and decency. Should we censor art works that are violent, insulting or degrading? These are some of the complex questions you must think about. Feeling intimidated and forced to subscribe to traditional or mainstream beliefs is a violation of your personal freedom. But sometimes authorities set rules and boundaries for good reason. Understanding why the rules exist is more important than automatically obeying them. ***************************************************************************** Cybercrimes and Freedom of Expression Despite the view of the United Nations Committee on Human Rights that Philippine criminal libel is contrary to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on freedom of expression, Congress and President Benigno Aquino III still enacted the Cybercrime Prevention Law which, among other things, added electronic libel as a new criminal offense. Worse, this new law increased the penalty for cyber libel to prison mayor from the current prison correctional provided under the Revised Penal Code. This means that electronic libel is now punished with imprisonment from six years and one day to up to 12 years, while those convicted for ordinary libel under the RPC are subject to imprisonment only from six months and one day to four years and two months. And because parole, a means by which a convict may be spared from actual imprisonment may be granted only to those sentenced to serve a prison term for no more than six months and one day, anyone convicted for cyber libel will inevitably serve a prison term. Since the Philippines leads the rest of the world in terms of Facebook and Twitter usage, this means that unlike ordinary libel complaints which are oftentimes brought against printed newspapers -given the element of publication, any user of these leading social media tools is now liable for prosecution. The fact that an allegedly libelous writing appeared on the Internet is already sufficient to prove the element of publication. The new Cybercrime law is an outright defiance of the UN Human Rights Committee View in the case of Alexander Adonis vs. Republic of the Philippines. In that View, the UNHRC declared that Philippine libel law under the RPC contravenes freedom of expression on two counts: one, it is a disproportionate means by which to achieve its avowed goal of protecting the privacy of private persons; and two, because there is an alternative in the form of civil libel, or the payment of damages. The UN HCR also took the view that our libel in the Philippines, because it does not recognize truth as a defense, is additionally defective on this ground. While the View of the UNHRC is this instance is non-binding, the Philippines nonetheless is under an obligation to heed it because of the maxim â€Å"pacta sundt servanda†, or that treaty obligations must be complied with in good faith. The UN Human Rights Committee Views, since the membership of the body consist of leading experts in human rights, are accepted as authoritative on the issue of states compliance with their obligations under the ICCPR. Simply put, the view against our libel law is very strong evidence of breach of a state obligation under the ICCPR And instead of heeding the UN’s call to review its existing libel law, Congress and President Aquino appeared to have slammed the body by enacting an even more draconian legislation against cyber libel. Our constitutional commitment to freedom of expression has long been recognized. Justice Holmes, for instance, wrote: â€Å"When men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas — that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market . . . .† The commitment exists because it is only through freedom of expression that we are able to discern the truth and able to fiscalize despotic regimes: â€Å"The freedom to speak one’s mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty—and thus a good unto itself—but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions. By criminalizing internet libel, government expanded the infringement of freedom of expression even to the realm that has enabled us to give life to the principle of a free market place of ideas- the internet. Prior to this law, it is ironic that the Philippines was even cited by the United Nations for not interfering with the internet. The law is a testament to the reality that despite the overwhelming mandate given to this administration, coupled with its unprecedented public approval ratings, it continues to be insecure and unable to compete in the market place of ideas. We will see the Aquino administration in court on this one. And we will prevail. For unlike other laws that enjoy the presumption of regularity, this cybercrime law, insofar as it infringes on freedom of expression, will come to court with a very heavy presumption of unconstitutionality. There can be nothing sadder than suing the son of icons of democracy for infringement into a cherished right. ************************************************************************* IMPORTANCE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) guarantees the right to freedom of expression in the following terms: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The UDHR, as a UN General Assembly resolution, is not directly binding on States. However, parts of it, including Article 19, are widely regarded as having acquired legal force as customary international law since its adoption in 1948. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a treaty ratified by over 150 States, including the Philippines, imposes formal legal obligations on State Parties to respect its provisions and elaborates on many of the rights included in the UDHR. Article 19 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to freedom of expression in terms very similar to those found at Article 19 of the UDHR: 1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of opinion. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any other media of his choice. Freedom of expression is also protected in all three regional human rights instruments, by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The right to freedom of expression enjoys a prominent status in each of these regional conventions and, although the Philippines cannot be a party to them, the judgments and decisions issued by courts under these regional mechanisms, offer an authoritative interpretation of freedom of expression principles in various different contexts. Freedom of expression is a key human right, in particular because of its fundamental role in underpinning democracy. At its very first session, in 1946, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 59(I) which states: â€Å"Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and †¦ the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.† As the UN Human Rights Committee has said: â€Å"The right to freedom of expression is of paramount importance in any democratic society.† RESTRICTIONS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION The right to freedom of expression is not absolute; both international law and most national constitutions recognise that it may be restricted. However, any limitations must remain within strictly defined parameters. Article 19(3) of the ICCPR lays down the conditions which any restriction on freedom of expression must meet: The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals. A similar formulation can be found in the European, American and African regional human rights treaties. These have been interpreted as requiring restrictions to meet a strict three-part test. International jurisprudence makes it clear that this test presents a high standard which any interference must overcome. The European Court of Human Rights has stated: â€Å"Freedom of expression †¦ is subject to a number of exceptions which, however, must be narrowly interpreted and the necessity for any restrictions must be convincingly established.† First, the interference must be provided for by law. This requirement will be fulfilled only where the law is accessible and ‘formulated with sufficient precision to enable the citizen to regulate his conduct’. Second, the interference must pursue a legitimate aim. The list of aims in Article 19(3) of the ICCPR is exclusive in the sense that no other aims are considered to be legitimate as grounds for restricting freedom of expression. Third, the restriction must be necessary to secure one of those aims. The word â€Å"necessary† means that there must be a â€Å"pressing social need† for the restriction. The reasons given by the State to justify the restriction must be â€Å"relevant and sufficient† and the restriction must be proportionate to the aim pursued. The Constitution of the Philippines, however, does not explicitly provide for restrictions to the right to freedom of expression. The only restriction to the rights to expression and information and press freedom is encapsulated in the provision on the right to privacy. Article III, Sections 3 of the Constitution states: (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law. (2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE MEDIA The guarantee of freedom of expression applies with particular force to the media, including the broadcast media and public service broadcasters. The European Court of Human Rights, for example, has consistently emphasised the â€Å"pre-eminent role of the press in a State governed by the rule of law†. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has stated: â€Å"It is the mass media that make the exercise of freedom of expression a reality.† Media as a whole merit special protection, in part because of their role in making public ‘information and ideas on matters of public interest. Not only does [the press] have the task of imparting such information and ideas: the public also has a right to receive them. Were it otherwise, the press would be unable to play its vital role of â€Å"public watchdog†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. It may be noted that the obligation to respect freedom of expression lies with States, not with the media per se. However, this obligation does apply to publicly-funded broadcasters. Because of their link to the State, these broadcasters are directly bound by international guarantees of human rights. In addition, publicly-funded broadcasters are in a special position to satisfy the public’s right to know and to guarantee pluralism and access, and it is therefore particularly important that they promote these rights.

Explain the differing reactions of people in Britain to the policy of evacuating children in World War II

The trepidation of aerial bombing gripped Britain as a nation, as uncensored images of Hitler's Condor Legion reduced the Basque's holy city of Guernica to rubble . The world recognized Hitler fascist regime, and acknowledged Hitler's supreme air power and its ability to obliterate cities. This terrified the British public, and alarmed the government; as the First World War experience with the air Zeppelin, still left its stigma on British hearts. The government had to devise a plan to protect its future generation and army. They called this plan ‘operation pied piper' ironically named after the rather menacing German folktale. This was the biggest and most concentrated mass movement of people in Britain's History. In the first four days of this regime ‘in September 1939, nearly 3,000,000 people were transported from towns and cities in danger from enemy bombers to places of safety in the countryside'. By any measure it was an astonishing event, a logistical nightmare of co-ordination and control . Lord Balfour mentioned: ‘unremitting bombardment of a kind that no other city has ever had to endure,' it was even predicted that in London alone that civilian causalities would amount to four million alone. Indeed evacuation even on the mainland initially was unsuccessful due to the Phoney War, many children returned to their homes and also difficulties getting billet posts because of the interference with lifestyle. In mainland Britain it was when Hitler changed his tactics to that of bombing British towns and cities in September 1940 that evacuation was taken more seriously. The British publics response to this regime varied, as many wealthy ‘Britons,' had the luxury of sending their children to Canada or Australia neutral countries unlikely to be attacked. Whilst the poorer citizens of Britain were indoctrinated into the ideology of evacuation towards the reception zones outside evacuation zones. Here we must take into account that evacuation was not compulsory, the strong and emotive propaganda used had to sway the principles of the public: for instance if we look at this piece published in 1939 by the ministry of health: ‘don't do it, mother leave them where they are' this piece of evidence demonstrates Hitler as a spiritual enemy in returning their children would be seen as playing into the Hitler's hands. In obvious respect, many mothers's rejected the government's response to the apprehension of mass bombardment; many had lost husbands and sons and needed their children there with them for emotional support. Another essential motive why children were evacuated where for fears of low morale, another essential factor which the British public needed to carry on the struggle against Hitler's aggression. The evacuation policy applied to pregnant women, children, school teacher's; and perhaps it is important to mention that some animals from The London zoo. The children were presented to host families or of what some argued the ‘slave auction,' what studies at the era demonstrated was that these ‘auctions' would have profound effects which would encourage chronic behaviour, for example ‘bed wetting'. The humiliating and daunting experiences of the ‘slave auction' left children feeling empty and dehumanised ‘nobody wanted to be picked last,' these children were usually poor children who appeared unclean and scruffy. Firstly if we look at this piece, written by the daily mirror a picture caption: ‘aren't they happy,' from hindsight we can acknowledge, how the daily mirror has used government propaganda to faiade the pessimistic side of evacuees ,with illustrations of children playing on beaches. In contrast to this image we can look at this piece of evidence an account from an evacuee Terri McNeil: ‘who was locked up in a birdcage and left with a chunk of bread and a bowl of water,' here we can distinguish the juxtaposition between a government biased view and a first hand witness experience, although only twelve percent of evacuees say that they suffered some sort of mental, physical or sexual abuse, we must note that, sixty years on the experience of evacuation still comes back to haunt people. However, this gave children from inner city slums, the opportunity to experience a life of idyllic atmosphere. People from different classes clashed, and gave the government and wealthier people a chance to acknowledge the huge gap between the poor and the rich, and idealise with their predicament. More over, evacuees since the Second World War still remember their evacuation as their, ‘adventure;' understandably those who experienced a good evacuation will cherish their memory, for instance In John Reynard's case: ‘The countryside was wonderful for a boy from the city: the fields, animals, woodlands, the river and the big house, we called the river ‘Ohio' wartime code so mother wouldn't know what we were up to'. Now in this, we can take that he has enjoyed himself with life away from the industrial city. Again in other experiences such as Lillian Evans: ‘we were chosen by a lady. .We were sent round the back door and told to strip off all our clothing, when we refused, our clothes were torn off. We were then forced naked into the kitchen in front of the host's father and the husband pushed us into a bath containing dettol . After her husband cut off all our hair until we were bald. His excuse, Children from Liverpool brought lice, scabies and sores into the countryside' this experience left Lillian mentally scarred . As mentioned above responses to this regime varied. The evacuation of British cities was extremely emotional and unnerving for the children of Britain, but account must be taken for parents and Billet officers and teachers involved in this mass evacuation. Many teachers had been evacuated with their pupils, but it was not always easy to find them classrooms to teach in. For instance if we look at this log book written by the headmaster: '57 children were admitted bringing the number on roll up to 206. There is insufficient seating for all the children and some are sitting 3 to a dual desk,' on the other hand people like Agnes her ‘school got to take over Sizergh castle near Kendel and around sixty girls got to stay in Levens hotel, a smart lake district hotel close by. I ended up sharing the honeymoon suite which had a private bathroom'. Many described the evacuation as a ‘typical British wartime shamble. ‘ Many people did not except evacuees even though it was compulsory, if we look at Lady Davy reason for not taking evacuees:' on medical grounds it is not good for her to have ten evacuees in a house with five bedrooms and two living rooms. Because of her public duties, Lady Davy requires more than just her bedroom,' this was the attitude of a lot of wealthy people. Billeting officers grew very exhausted and angry, because finding a host for the evacuee grew exasperating, due to social class and attitudes of host family because of status. In all, my overall impression to the attitudes of evacuation is that; social class played a more dominant role in identifying human behaviour towards those of a lesser class, and on a positive note helped the government and those more fortunate to understand peoples plight. In this,some aspects of evacuation did baffle me, the mistreatment of host families towards evacuees-perhaps this was their way of getting back at the government-Most of the images displayed by the government were biased. Some could argue that the wealthier acted preposterously towards the regime than others of a lesser classer. Who's to dispute the argument? But reality is more complicated than what some would conclude.

Circe and Nausicaa in the Odysseys Essay

These four characters all have the same role within the Odyssey and the Aeneid as they are all put in place as obstacles to the hero’s quest. Odysseus and Aeneas both have arduous journeys to undertake and these characters are simply temptresses, there to prevent the heroes from fulfilling there quests and in my opinion pose a greater threat to the completion of the journeys then the physical dangers both heroes have to endure. However although within these epics the characters have negative roles to play they themselves are victims of fate. Without each heroes underlying mission spurring them on it is reasonable to assume each of these women would have a good chance of having a long-term relationship with either Odysseus or Aeneas (indeed each character with the exception of Nausicaa engage in a brief relationship with the hero of there respective epic) and the fact these relationships have to be discontinued or unexplored seems unfair to the so called ‘temptresses’ and therefore causes the reader to evoke sympathy for the characters. These women, although play identical roles, are in very different circumstance and are very different characters and therefore the level of sympathy we feel for them varies and I believe it is fair to say that it is Dido we feel the most sympathy for: An important feature of why we feel so much sympathy for Dido is the fact we learn so much of her background. In book 1 of the Aeneid we find out Dido is an exile from her home city of Tyre after her brother Pygmalion killed Dido’s husband Sychaeus ‘In blind lust for his gold’ (Sychaeus was apparently ‘the wealthiest of the Phoenicians’). Dido, by the advice of her dead husband, rounds up the men ‘driven by savage hatred or lively fear’ of Pygmalion and sets sail for a new home. This background is important as it gives the reader a sense of attachment with the character that doesn’t seem to apply to the other characters, the fact that Dido has such a troubled past means we sympathize with her from a very early stage, which makes her ultimate down fall even more tragic i.e. this is a character we know rather then an other faceless characters that is sacrificed for the quest (such as Palinurus and Elpenor). The female characters of the Odyssey just don’t come with this tragic background; The knowledge the audience would have of Calypso’s and Circe’s background would be through legend, which regardless of how tragic some legends may be, are fantastical, which means the audience wouldn’t relate to them like they would Dido’s background and doesn’t give the goddesses the sense of vulnerability you get with Dido. Nausicaa is a young princess of Phaeacia, so although her background isn’t mention in any great detail in the odyssey, as the princess of a paradise it is unlikely to be negative. Another impotent sympathy factor is the characters motivation for falling for their respective hero. Calypso and Circe have the least sympathetic motives as they are simply looking for a companion (a modern phrase we would use is trophy husband) and as goddesses have more then likely had many companions before Odysseus. Nausicaa simply has a crush on Odysseus, and therefore her emotional attachment to him is not very high, the fact they never engage in a relationship also means their attachment isn’t as matured as the other characters. Nausicaa and Dido do have one thing in common however as they are both victims of divine intervention. Nausicaa’s intervention by Athene (improving his appearance) however is not as direct as the intervention Dido endures (being forced into love by Cupid); as a result the audience doesn’t get the same sense of the cruelty of fate with Nausicaa that we get for Dido. Probably the most important aspect of the characters for which evokes our sympathy is the aftermath of being let down by our heroes. Although Dido is the only character whose plot continues after the hero leaves we can still make an educated guess as to what would happen to the other characters. Circe and Calypso are both goddesses and are likely to find other companions after Odysseus, both as goddesses are in control of there emotions when meeting Odysseus which means they should be much more composed upon his departure (the fact Calypso takes Odysseus against his will shows she should foresee possible heartbreak in the future). Nausicaa as a young girl is much more vulnerable to heartbreak however as a young girl she has her whole life a head of her which means she is much more likely to find another man, and the fact no commitment is made means she is simply loosing a crush apposed to a lover which means her heartbreak will be less then that of the other characters. Dido as the most vulnerable (lost her husband and livelihood) has the furthest to fall, and assuming the educated guesses as to the outcome of the other characters are correct, by committing suicide Dido suffers the worst fate by far. Book 4 of the Aeneid dictates the devotion and downfall of Dido; Dido lets her civic duties slide due to the distraction of Aeneas and the City of Carthage’s construction grinds to a halt. Dido states in her speech to Aeneas that her people have lost all respect for her, and as a result she feels the only way to regain some respect is to kill herself. Book 4 could almost be a tragic play; Dido’s hubristic act of sleeping with Aeneas before marriage leads to her catastrophic downfall; a downfall which can be said to be entirely down to the cruelty of fate and the gods. Dido is the most vulnerable with the most too loose, and as far as we know comes to the worst end so for me is far more sympathetic a character then the female characters of the Odyssey.

Customer Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Customer Service - Essay Example Having being ranked position one by business week magazines on March 2, 2009 on customer satisfaction that saw its sales surge by 18%, amazon customer service representative has to manage personal stress. They have experience working under pressure in a high-volume processing conditions while maintaining standards of consistency in both quality and productivity. Being able to manage stress is essential here since it helps deliver tactics, strategies and techniques to handle personal stress and burnout. It aids while dealing with pressures, frustrations and stress associated with work thus reducing the likelihood of burnout. To relieve stress, the customer service representatives should; think positively b avoiding over analyzing what customers and coworkers say as this may distort their perception. Developing new skills through training and working on communication skills as well as confronting a difficult customer or situation is important. Learning relaxation styles that are; deep breathing, meditation, taking break and involvement in humor helps in relieving stress. What to accomplish based on experience is to check the credibility of the claim and bring to notice to the customer the terms and conditions under which the company operates. It would help the client see whether the crutches would be refunded, repaired or exchanged for new ones. On my opinion since the guarantee period was over, the customer should be pay for new crutches. Failure to keep the receipt should also prevent even the replacement of the crutches if it were to be

History assignmnt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History assignmnt - Essay Example bsite has been on-going with the effort to record and preserve the record of September 11, through the collection and storage of information from first-hand encounter of the event, digital photographs and artworks, and a variety of other digital materials associated to the attacks. The website also uses the events as a technique of evaluating in what manner history is being documented and conserved in the 21st century. It also helps historian’s better collect, preserve, and writes history in the new century. The main goal is to create an enduring documentation of events of 9-11-2001. The Archive has so far made contracting agreements establishing partnership with Library of Congress, which accepted a copy of the as its Archive permanent collections this ensures long-term preservation. Over the years, the archive has accumulated more than 150,000 digital files: stories, photographs, digital art images, videos, official documents, and oral histories. Altogether, these resources provide the substantial accounts of the event and instantaneous reactions of the events in New York, Arlington, and Shanksville. The site has also managed to archive record on the subsequent kaleidoscopic chronological remembrances that have been at the heart for much of the scholarship on September 11th. The September 11 website author being lovers of history and media, majority of them working in the George Mason University lack visible differences and thus the reason behind the continued success of the web page. Their love for history is said to be one of the pillars of the web page. Also, the model of data collection and preservation is a significant contributor to its continued success. Being in the 21st century majority of readers would prefer to get information on the website. This gives the September 11 a boost to its success as there are not many such sights where individuals can access such information. The website â€Å"The September 11† has been providing software’s that

Art history summary and answer question Assignment - 1

Art history summary and answer question - Assignment Example Moreover, he spelled out that Vasari could sing divinely without any preparations. Through outrageous incredible attributes of Leonardo, Vasari is able to capture people’s attention towards Leonardo’s life. Another factor that Vasari points out is that Leonardo was a ‘multi-player’; he was able to perform numerous tasks interchangeably and easily. He did not give up on drawing and relief workings despite doing other things such as playing lyre, doing arithmetic and singing. Overall then Vasari was able to influence Leonardo’s fame after his death through the style of oratory, hyperbole and idealistic comments. Vasari’s oratory praise style was very instrumental in elevating the life of Leonardo. To begin with he argued that Leonardo’s fame was great when he was still alive and enhanced when he passed on. He expounded on this view holding that the heavens, in seldom times, sent people some individuals who represented both humanity and divinity. This, Vasari believed was important to people such that it enabled them to view it as a model and imitate it so as to approach the heavenly highest parts with their mind and with the intellect excellence. Through this explanation, Vasari is able to capture people’s emotions such that Leonardo, with his impeccable attributes, was a real role model for many people and hope for them that they could reach far. Besides, Rubin (pg. 97) adds that individuals who wish to follow Leonardo’s footsteps of such admirable attributes via studying, even when not helped by nature to realize such magnitude; could at least embrace the works of divine of those who play a part of the divinity. From these comments of Vasari, enormous praise was notably laid on Leonardo before people intentionally. In fact Rubin (pg. 97) argues that Vasari was deliberate by using unique terms and metaphors in describing Leonardo’s ‘wondrous and divinity’ characteristics. Rubin argues

Case portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case portfolio - Essay Example iii. Compact Disk: This disk similar to the first evidence could have been used to store data which might have appertained to the pending case. This disk can also be preserved in a tamper proof evidence material/bag while awaiting transportation to the law enforcement agency or pending analysis. iv. The Hard Disk Drive: This material is always used to store all the information in a computer system. As the primary storage source, this evidence could reveal most of the data required in determining this case. In storing this, the data in the drive can be copied to another independent one for precautionary reasons. The disk should also be stored in a tamper proof material awaiting analysis or transfer to the law enforcement agency. v. The telephone: Mr. Didit might have used this phone for his communications and as such this item would be major evidence in the case. The call history should be tapped and stored in a safe and permanent place. Obtaining the call logs will reveal the information he was communicating and the recipients of the same and whether in his communications he talked of child pornography at all. The internal memory of the phone should be able to reveal all the evidence pertaining to this case if there is any made. vi. The computers: Since it is the computers that were mainly used in the major communications, these computers in the office provide crucial evidence as to the validity of the case. Together with their components, they should be analyzed to determine the information in their internal memories and as well be kept safely without being moved by unauthorized personalities. I secured the computers and components and transported the same to the law enforcement authority. vii. The computer mouse: This is used to input specific commands especially when accessing file. The fingerprints of the user can be traced on it which can then

Surveillance Security research assingment Essay

Surveillance Security research assingment - Essay Example Introduction In this global technological evolution of information systems, every organization protects the network by firewalls, intrusion detection systems and other dedicated hardware. The widespread implementation of these network defense equipments facilitated the organizations to be more secure. However, the other side of the picture demonstrates that it has also maximized opportunities for hackers to breach in the systems. Security is essential part of any computer network that is operational. Security measures are mandatory as ‘www.businessdictionary.com’ covers the basics and states it as â€Å"Prevention of and protection against assault, damage, fire, fraud, invasion of privacy, theft, unlawful entry, and other such occurrences caused by deliberate action†. Another definition in the context of network security stated as â€Å"Network security covers such issues as network communication privacy, information confidentiality and integrity over network, co ntrolled access to restricted network domains and sensitive information, and using the public network, such as Internet, for private communications †. Organizations spend enormous funds only for implementing advanced security devices and security applications The reason for doing large investments in order to protect networks is understandable as the impacts of security breaches are also equivalent. Security breaches related to data theft, hacking, unauthorized access etc. impacts on organizations reputation in the market as customer data is exposed to hackers, who can use it for many purposes for financial gain. Likewise, this will also lead in severe revenue loss. The current network of 1-Click Mobile Phones Ltd has only a firewall to combat all the threats. No internal access policies are implemented, no advanced security appliances are present, and no surveillance security framework is implemented. 1-Click Mobile Phones Ltd has recognized the importance of securing the net work and hence decided to equip the network with a surveillance security cameras and biometrics, advanced security appliances, wireless security and internal access policies. The objectives of this report are to identify and prevent Unauthorized Access, Monitoring Employee activities by surveillance, Monitoring critical server, database and equipments by surveillance and Preventing Wireless access. Although, advanced firewalls support packet-filtering technology to analyze every packet before granting access. Moreover, ‘computer security incident response teams’ are deployed to perform recovery whenever an incident generates on the network. Physical Infrastructure Policy The physical infrastructure policy will add surveillance security to the current network. There are no definitions available for video surveillance security apart from this one that states it, as â€Å"Intelligent Video Solution is a system of hardware and software that aids the security executives in performing their daily tasks. An intelligent video solution can be from a single manufacturer or it can be a compilation of components (both hardware and software) from a variety of manufacturers. The net end result is that it is the sum of all of its parts performing the tasks they were designed to do† (Elliott 2010). For the current network of 1-Click Mobile Phones Ltd, a cost effective network video recording surveillance solution s required. The ‘VS-8024 VioStor NVR (Network Video Recorder)’ will fulfill all the requirements of the network as it

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would Essay

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would you make that would better or improve the system - Essay Example I would also concentrate on the problem of maintenance, such as dirt and trash, food on the trains, broken elevators, dilapidated facilities, etc. For the amount that they are paying to ride on the MTA, straphangers deserve a clean and respectable place to commute. I also believe in the theory that if things look bad, they start to go bad, sometimes called the â€Å"broken windows† theory. Finally, if given charge of the organization, I would work hard to fight corruption. It is the overall assumption of the current report that by operating without secrecy and with a high level of accountability, in addition to installing measures of performance or results based management, the MTA under my tenure will be looked upon as possessing integrity and fairness in its operations, and will gain the trust of the public and increase the level of responsibility required of its own employees and society as a whole. Theoretically, it all seems rather simple for performance based management to promote this sort of behavior, backed up by an effective ethics program.

A Rose for Emily Critical Analisis Research Paper

A Rose for Emily Critical Analisis - Research Paper Example Even though Emily commits the gruesome murder of Homer Baron, her lover, she must be excused on account of her powerlessness to rid herself of the imposed personality. In sum, Emily’s character and actions are born out of external influences over which she has no control. Outline I Nature of Emily’s relationship with her father II Character traits of Mr. Grierson Class consciousness Patriarchal nature III Grierson’s influence on Emily’s personality IV Murder of Homer Baron V Conclusion Analysis Emily spends most of her adult life by her father’s side. Her father objects to all endeavors by eligible suitors to marry Emily partly due to the pride of class. The Griersons had considered themselves as occupying a privileged position in the society (Ruthmann 56). They did not wish to make any kind of acquaintances with the townspeople because of the divide on matters of class. As a result of this, Emily had learnt to accept her father as the only relevant companion in her life. After her father’s death, and later after the disappearance of Homer, she remained in solitude, â€Å"After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all† (Faulkner 12). It might be necessary to examine Mr. Grierson’s character in light of its possible influences on Emily. Grierson is portrayed as a domineering father with a strong character and irreconcilable aversion to common people. He is a man who could not compromise his social status and perspectives for ordinary things. As the only man in Emily’s world, he imparted these lopsided views on the young woman thus converting her into an antisocial individual. Mr. Grierson created a private mental universe in which he could live out his fantasies of class supremacy and patriarchal prejudices. He forced his daughter to share in this world and the two adopted a bird’s eye view on the society, which they regar ding in particularly demeaning terms. Mr. Grierson desired to convert her daughter into a super-human individual that could exist beyond the touch of all that was ordinary. It was precisely because of these delusions of grandeur that he disallowed Emily to marry the many suitors that came her way, â€Å"None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such† (Faulkner 34). This would be the beginning of the unnatural feelings of necrophilia that would later demolish the citadel of grandeur in which she had been forced into by a patronizing Grierson. Emily shares a single mind with her father and appears ready to continue this union to the physical level. Her refusal to admit the reality of her father’s death and the three days reluctance to release the corpse for burial offers strong hints at the kind of physical bond, which she had nurtured towards her father. Her father was the singular point of reference in her life of social exclusion and represented the only essence of affection and company, which she could truly relate to. With his demise, Emily’s life lost all meaning. Naturally, Emily might have fought off her genuine feelings of love and compassion in an effort to stay the course on which her father had placed her. She sacrificed her individuality and sense of self with the intention of walking the straight and narrow established by her overbearing father. The force of patriarchy, which her father so brazenly embodied, would later fend off all forms

Business Analysis Tools Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10500 words

Business Analysis Tools - Dissertation Example It involves integration, summarization, and abstraction as well as ratios, trends, and allocations.† It entails extrapolating useful data from huge knowledge repositories that deal with trends, allocations, ratios, integration, summarization, and abstractions. It involves comparing and resolving generalizations based on information to model-based suppositions. Business Intelligence deals with innovative thinking that data enhances and the measurement of the innovative notions that the organization initiates. It pertains to using data well, knowing how to measure it, and extracting information from its models. Business intelligence operates as a continuous pool of data analysis and decision-making enhancement. Its framework comprises conflict resolution, access models, data collection, dimensional structuring, model verification, predictive models, data synthesis, access processes, knowledge sharing, intuitive representations, prescriptions, resource strategies, decision impleme ntation, and scenario analysis (Rao, 2000, p. 517). Rajteric (2010) cites the definition of Howard Dresner, who described it as â€Å"concepts and methodologies for improvement of business decisions using facts and information from supporting systems.† (p. 47). The author cites those definitions of Azvine and Wells, which stress the ability of organizations to attain business objectives and effectiveness: â€Å"Business Intelligence is all about capturing, accessing, understanding, analyzing and converting one of the fundamental and most precious assets of the company, represented by the raw data, into active information in order to improve business† (p. 47); Wells’ meaning of â€Å"Business Intelligence is the capability of the organization or company to explain,... In reviewing the literature, many definitions of Business Intelligence exist. Rao offers an excellent definition of Business Intelligence: â€Å"Business Intelligence (BI) is about synthesizing useful knowledge from large datasets. It involves integration, summarization, and abstraction as well as ratios, trends, and allocations.† It entails extrapolating useful data from huge knowledge repositories that deal with trends, allocations, ratios, integration, summarization. It involves comparing and resolving generalizations based on information to model-based suppositions. Business Intelligence deals with innovative thinking that data enhances and the measurement of the innovative notions that the organization initiates. It pertains to using data well, knowing how to measure it, and extracting information from its models. Business intelligence operates as a continuous pool of data analysis and decision-making enhancement. Its framework comprises conflict resolution, access models , data collection, dimensional structuring, model verification, predictive models, data synthesis, access processes, knowledge sharing, intuitive representations, prescriptions, resource strategies, decision implementation, and scenario analysis.In other literature review, Sell et al (2011) define Business Intelligence (BI) as the incorporation of a pattern of tools to sustain the conversion of data into information in enhancing decision making. In addition, organizations utilize BI to study data for their needs.

Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay Example for Free

Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay Robert Frosts THE ROAD NOT TAKEN talks about the everyday choices that one makes while traveling down the road of life. In the first stanza the speaker introduces the poem by saying Two roads diverged in a yellow woodThis is interesting because it is suggests that there are two actual roads, as opposed to figurative roads. Then the speaker goes on to say And sorry I could not travel bothThis is one of the most powerful lines in the poem; because no matter whom the reader is they will relate to the feeling of regret, and sadness over a missed opportunity. When one reads something that they are able to connect with the piece of work then becomes that much more meaningful. And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. These last three lines in the first stanza are almost comical, because they paint such a clear picture of human nature. You as a reader can actually see yourself standing at the cross roads of life; trying to foresee what obstacles and opportunities you will have, as a result of the decision you are being forced to make. But try though you may, you will never really know for certain what the outcome of your decisions will be. In the forth and fifth line of the third stanza the speaker says Yet knowing how way, leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. This line verbalizes a sense of nostalgia that the speaker has, as well as a sense of determination not to look back at the same time; this is quite interesting and could only be the result of meticulously chosen words. In the forth (final) stanza the speaker again relays a felling of nostalgia, when he says I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence. The speaker closes the poem with a sense of pride and accomplishment by announcing Two roads Diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. By ending this poem the way that Robert Frost chose to, it is apparent that he is trying to send a message to his readers, through the lips of the speaker. This message is one that everyone should not only read, but  embrace. The message is to follow you instincts and listen to your conscience, and you will be led to a future that is filled with happiness and success. Far too many people are afraid to find their own way, and are much more content going along with the crowd. But in the end it is those that follow their hearts that end up where the want to be.

Classical Theories And Crime Prevention Criminology Essay

Classical Theories And Crime Prevention Criminology Essay Crime is one of the greatest challenges the world is experiencing today. Crime rates have continually shot up at the same time taking new dimensions. People faced by the challenges of accomplishing their responsibilities under various economies, environmental situations and mental psychology often end up in committing crime. The society in response to this has stipulated several lawful mechanisms to arrest the situation, punishment being the utmost resolved means. Punishing the criminals without identifying the root cause of the crime does not necessary solve the vice, more approach is directed towards establishment of the why question the individual ended in committing crime. Societies have therefore formulated various criminological theories intended to gauge crime and criminals in passing out sound judgments. Each theory is applied in accordance to its relevance to a particular case since different criminological theories base their arguments on a different societal set up and var ied environmental/social conditions. This paper examines the application of classical choice theories in crime prevention. Introduction Classical choice theory dates back the 18th century and probably forms the bases of other theories too. This school of thought find it context by basing an argument that people are at liberty in decision making and therefore will behave in a manner that best suits their desires (Ambroise, 2006). The theory attributes that crime can be curbed to greater extent if there is a mobilization in societies to avert from getting influenced by their desires and pleasures in taking an action course. Crime can be contained by ensuring that punishment outweighs the pleasures derived from the crime committed (Siegel, 2008). This concept therefore, is a framework that tries to understand the behavior of people, the reasons that drives them in committing crime and various approaches to prevent a person in making choices that leads to crime. This theory was first developed in the 18th century by European philosophers who were criticizing the corrupt and authoritative arbitrary nature of their legal system. The ideas about people and the criminal behavior in determining crime came up when these philosophers were changing the legal system thus referring it as choice theory. On the other hand classical theory is based on arguments that the law should not be discriminative and should be applied equally amongst all (Cullen Agnew, 2006). The other aspect of the classical and choices theory is ground to the fact that human beings have the capacity to control these choices. The fear to the confrontation of the consequences resulting from their behaviors governs their mode of conduct and therefore refrains from criminal activities. Human beings have the ability to analyze situations with regard to their positive outcomes and their potential negatives. If the risks involved in engaging in certain behavior are much less than the benefits, then an individual is likely to commit that crime(Siegel, 2004). According to the philosophers, people act in a rational manner and choose towards their actions that gives them the greatest pleasure and least pain. The concept is equally applicable to the individuals who are involved in criminal activity. The classical theory holds that Delinquent behavior is a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives the chances of gain outweighs any perceived punishment or loss (Siegel Senna, 2004, p. 61). It is therefore an individuals choice to commit a crime after considerations of the benefits and possible consequences outcome. The characteristics traits of the offender, nature of the offence, specific factors and situation may affect his/her decision to a point. Psychological state of an individual in relation to emotions, strain and other external pressures is thus considered a contributory factor towards an individual committing a crime (Verma, 2007, p. 2020). The theory advocates that an individual is encouraged to commit a crime on opportunity availability. The classical theory helps to understand demographics, victimization and lifestyle of a process whereby the offender and the victim come into contact with one another. Researchers have identified aspects like being unmarried, male, leading an active lifestyle and frequenting bars can raise the risk of crime committing (Verma, 2007, p. 2020). People can opt to use illegal means in acquiring what they want to achieve if the consequences are not severe compared to the benefits associated with the crime. The society has to ensure that punishments accorded to criminals are severe if it is to achieve tangible results in trying to discourage criminal activities (Adler, Mueller, Laufer, 2004, p. 59). In relation to this, penalties for committing criminal acts must be known to the public, the punishment handed down must be swift and certain (Cullen Agnew, 2006). In the early 1700s, the Europe legal system was in disarray. The laws were open to interpretation and vague where the judges were accorded with a lot of power which they misused in interpreting laws to suit their interests. A penalty for a particular crime varied depending on who was at the receiving end. Equality in law application did not apply: Some criminals could go unpunished for a crime committed while others received a life sentence for the same (Cullen Agnew 2006). It had become the order of the day for the societies in the upper class bribing the judges to go free for offences committed while the poor with no resources to bribe their way out received unconditional harsh punishments. Petty offences like theft resulted to stiff punishments amounting to torture, life imprisonment or murder (Cullen Agnew, 2006). These legal shortcomings fueled a new wave targeting radical reforms in the mid 18th century. In the year the year 1740, Fredric II of Prussia terminated torture to inmates and death sentence for burglary offences in the year 1743 (Ambroise, 2006), a move that was welcomed by many European philosophers. Hobbes, a philosopher believed that people naturally pursue their own interest and in the course harm one another. Further, he asserted that rational individuals give up some freedom to the state willingly so that laws could be established which placed limits in order to prevent this harm from occurring (Cullen Agnew, 2006): A philosophical thought that led changes to criminal justice. Many criminology experts have contributed towards development of the classical and choice theories to make stand relevant to the ever-growing challenges surrounding the field. Much debate has rested on the measure of punishment a particular offence should hold. The purpose of punishment is crime deterrence, not social revenge. Certainty and swiftness rather than severity in punishment best secures this goal (Clear Cole, 2003, p. 33). The level scale of punishment should correspond to the nature of crime, in a proportionate system. This is because criminals are rational in the sense that they calculate the benefits and costs a behavior before action before deciding the action. The notion of Beccarias proportionate punishment is based upon this assumption and indeed this forms the basis of our current criminal justice system (Verma, 2007, p. 202). Classical choice theory emphasizes on the utilization of the resources available to reduce possible crime occurrence by advocating direct solutions to the problem arising from crimes. The verdict applied to the offender is meant to discourage further engagement in similar or associated crimes. By upsetting the balance between the benefits vs. costs, crime occurrence is found to reduce (Campie, 2003). Classical and choice theory application to crime This theory finds application up to date. The current approach is more focused on crime prevention. Policy makers still develop more approaches particularly those that have grounds with evidence and are results based which includes: policing initiatives, gun control tactics, increased incarceration and youth substance abuse and violence reduction strategies (Schuck, 2005, pp. 448-49).The following are some examples where this theory finds application. In an article entitled Giving students what they need, internal and external motivation approaches in the classroom are examined. Â   Student motivation is one of the input most needed for success. Educators wish for their students to be motivated since motivated students perform better. Â   Failure to this, students will possibly do poor work or no work at all, learn little, and frequently show reckless or unruly behaviors. There are two types of motivation-external and internal. Â   External motivation, the proverbial carrot, and stick approach predominates not only in most classrooms but also in the world (Erwin, 2003, p. 20). Â   Nonetheless, this approach is not as successful as internal motivation since it encourages students to work hard only for rewards. The promised reward has to increase once a behavior is achieved. Students do not fight to excel for the right reasons. Â   Internal motivation is a wiser choice for educators to use with students since it helps to fulfill some of the students basic needs. Â   Choice theory by William Glasser explores internal motivation and its impact on relationships. Â   According to Choice Theory, five basic needs constitute the source of internal motivation and guide all behavior (Erwin, 2003, p. 21). Â   Â   Â   Survival is one of the basic needs that our students need to have met. Â   The importance of having the survival need fulfilled is that it allows individuals to feel a sense of order and security. Â   Educators can help fulfill this need in the classroom by developing structured and consistent classroom procedures, allowing students to have snacks and drinks, and creating rules that allow a safe and respected environment (Erwin, 2003, p. 21). Choice theories are among the fastest growing theories in social science today. Many sociologists and political scientists defend the claim that rational choice theory can provide the basis for a unified and comprehensive theory of social behavior. Rational choice theory is distinguished from other theories because it emphasise on the fact all actions are calculative and rational. All social action can be seen as rationally motivated, as instrumental action, however much of it may appear to be irrational or non-rational. Choice Theory would be most beneficial in the reduction or control of crime. According to the Choice Theory, law-violating behavior should be viewed as an event that occurs when an offender decides to risk violating the law after considering his or her own personal situation (need for money, personal values, learning experiences) and the subsequent consequences. Other factors a potential criminal would consider includes: how well a target is protected, how affluent the neighborhood is and how efficient the local police happen to be. Before choosing to commit a crime, the reasoning criminal evaluates the risk of apprehension, the seriousness of the expected punishment, the value of the criminal enterprise, and his or her immediate need for criminal gain (Erwin, 2003). The Choice Theory shift attention to deviant activity or the act of engaging in criminal. The issue becomes, what can be done to make the act of crime or deviance less attractive to an individual, and how can crime or deviant behavior be prevented? The theory claims that crime prevention or at least crime reduction may be achieved through policies that convince criminals to disengage from criminal activities, delay their actions, or avoid a particular target. Strategies that are relevant to this perspective includes: target hardening, deadbolts, self-defense skills, neighborhood and watching programs that are illegal (Siegel, 2008). The theory is among the least complicated explanations for any action and involves a simple cost-benefit analysis. A violent individual gains some benefit from either threatening violence or acting out violently. If he or she does not receive, or fear receiving, some significant punishment, then he or she is more likely to act on his or her drive to act out in a violent manner (Ferguson, 2009). Crime is seductive and opens the door of opportunity. People may rationally choose crime because it provides them with psychological and social benefits and can help them solve problems. Choice Theory roots are based on the classical school of criminology, by Ceasare Beccaria, who viewed that crime is rational and can be prevented by punishment that is swift, certain and severe enough to deter crime. This has lead to a more contemporary version of classical theory, based on intelligent thought processes and criminal decision-making; today this is referred to as the rational choice approach to crime causation (Siegel, 2007). This theoretical perspective suggests that: people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors; people choose to commit crime for reasons of greed or personal need; and crime can be controlled only by the fear of criminal sanctions (Siegel, 2007). Offenders choose crime after considering both personal-money, revenge, thrills, entertainment-and situational factors, such as target availability, security measures and police presence (Siegel, 2007). The choice theorists view crime as offense- and offender-specific; and that a number of personal factors condition people to choose crime; and the decision to commit crime regardless of its substance, is structured by where it occurs and the circumstances revolving the offender and the environment (Siegel, 2007). New and tougher laws are now being put in place to bring the crime rate down. With this reflection, the U.S public policy of 1980 created a mandatory prison sentences for drug offenders. Surprisingly, the prisons population swelled up with minors constituting a considerable figure (Schmallager, 2006). Despite liberal anguish, conservative view of crime control shaped criminal justice for a lengthy period. Most Americans that were passionate opponents of abortion on the ground that it takes human life, became ironically ardent supporters of the death penalty (Siegel, 2008) The tough attitude measures was overwhelmingly supported owing the fact that while the prisons were getting overcrowded, crime was on the other hand was noted to be on the decline. These developments saw the classical theories take another advanced dimension. The newer approach is based on intelligent thought processes and criminal decision making. Experts in criminology ascertain that the choice theory is in a way different from the original classical theory which posed criminals as individuals who maximized their pleasure and minimized pain. These experts suggest that if individuals are caught while committing crime, it is because they are slow thinkers and are not perfect in their decision making. The causative factors influencing a crime are therefore extended to thought and emotion processes. Social relationship, environmental characteristics, individual traits and capabilities have also been found to impact criminals in decision making. Human behavior in making their choices is therefore willful and determined (Schmallager, 2006). The latest developments have described criminals as people who share profile and ambitions just as the normal citizens but have opted to use shortcuts in achieving their goals. They possess conventional citizens values strive for success, material attainment and work hard. Phillipe Bourgois in his study towards crack dealers in Harlem found that criminal lead a life where they were mobile, and struggling to make their ends meet: They only commit crime as a choice to use an illegal path in obtaining their goals that were deemed elusive using the legal way (Siegel, 2008). Crime has become attractive when an individual believes that its results is more beneficial compared to the cost. Their is a tendency for individuals engaging in a crime when they have a prior information that other who committed a similar crime made considerable achievements and are successful owing a crime previous committed. It is common that crime does not pay. Small but significant subsets of criminals earn as much as $50,000 yearly on crime. Such success is an encouraging factor to potential criminals. Offenders are however less likely to be inclined to committing crime if they perceive that their future earnings from criminal acts will be low and legal opportunities that can generate income are available. In this sense, rational choice is a function of a persons perceptions of conventional alternatives and opportunities (Siegel, 2008). The various authorities therefore have to keep tracking the employment level demands and creating more opportunities with considerable remunera tions. The job offers should be attractive so that it captures many individuals who would possibly engage in crime if there were no such offers. Criminals tend to adapt the rational choice of time and place of their crimes. Burglars for example prefer working between 9A.M and 11A.M and in the mid afternoon, when parents are either working or dropping off or picking their kids from school. They avoid Saturdays when most families are at home, and the morning hours of Sunday. Church hours are considered the best for weekend burglaries. Criminals are known to identify their targets hobbies so as to strike when the families are out for such outdoor hobbies. These activities are meant to create the least possible chances of being caught (Siegel, 2008). Family living in close neighborhoods can limits the access to their homes by disconnecting the subdivision from the adjacent ones and install walkways to locations safe to pedestrians, and to create bounds for them. Evidence of rational choice may also be found in the way criminals choose their targets locations. It has been noted that thieves avoid free standing buildings as there is likelihood of police surrounding them. They select targets that often do cash business like bars, supermarkets and restaurants. Burglars appear to monitor car and pedestrian traffic and avoid busy streets. Instead, they choose corner homes mostly those located near traffic lights, or those surrounded by wooded areas. Most burglars choose their neighborhood where they are conversant with the terrain and access roads. New location is only chosen when the target is worth and the law enforcers are not perceived to be very vigilant (Siegel, 2008). It is recommended that residents adopt the method of natural surveillance that advocates that: door is fully illuminated from outside and windows to be laced strategically for good visibility. If proper lighting system is placed along sidewalks and the entire yard in generals, thieves and burglars would lack the opportunity of striking in unnoticed. Commercial areas can be designed such a way that, check-out counters are located in front of the stores visible from the outside enabling the employees to view outside activities. Public entrances can be marked with a landscape, architecture and graphic to designate sidewalks, parking areas and design loading zones separately with designated delivery hours. Conclusion Classical choice theories concludes that the choice to engage in a criminal behavior is based on the offenders own interests. It is therefore in position to assert that most offenders act rationally and in their personal best interests. With this understanding of the decision making mechanism behind committing crime and in relation to criminal justice, professionals may be able to reduce crime level to a grater extent. This can only be achieved by making crime less attractive and the punishment more severe, swift to justice so that potential criminals get discouraged in engaging with the acts. Crime prevention can be used to propel the agencies responsible in enforcing city and county codes to help identify problem areas and properties that are crime risks or could become future crime risks. Factors that attract crime and violence like improper zoning, trash accumulation should be eliminated to reduce future victimization.

Culture in the Police Force

Culture in the Police Force Culture is a way of life, different nations, different countries or even different families have their own cultures. There is one occupational culture inside the police force, that what we called Cop Culture. According to Reiner (2000), police occupational cultures can be defined as a kind of share values, beliefs, norms, working practices, and informal rules, police officers will use these cultures to justify their works in their world. In this essay, we will talk about the principal features and characteristics associated with cop culture, also we will further discuss the main recent critiques of the previous scholarly understandings of cop culture. Culture is the way of life which varies from place to place, or changes over period. It exists in many forms like, behaviors, attitude or norms, etc. Cop culture is an organizational culture within the police force, it is not the formal rules but still widely spread within the force. These informal rules and share values will not be published as written manuals. There will not have a ceremony to announce these rules, but when new recruits enter the system, during the recruitment and training period, they will be socialized and learn about the culture. New police officers are then engaged in following the informal rules as they are all assumed to achieve the same goal. With this unavoidable socialization, police and cop culture are always closely interdependent. Many studies always use cop culture as the key debate in contemporary policing, it is because public concerns that, police is the professionals in our society, their works involve danger and risk. They are paid to protect the public safety and prevent crime, so they should take these responsibilities. Public expect and demand police officers the highest standard of work, but they do not truly understand the complexity of police work. Working between this ambiguous gap, there is a need for police officers to work out a special way of life to sustain the whole system. Cop culture involves different underlying values, these may affect or guide the polices working behavior. It can be seen as the reference for police to understand more about the way of work and the policing style of its organization, or we may say it is a kind a learning behavior. As many criminologists mostly concern about how the cop-culture shapes the ways in which officers use their discretion? we can make use of the police culture to further understand and interpret how the police use the discretion power. (Westmarland, L, 2008) Discretion power takes an important role in the police role, police use this specific authorized power when they have to make decision for their operation. As we all know, it is impossible to implement the law fully, there still have differences between law in practice and law in theory. We cannot write down every single case in a rule book, and ask the police officers to follow them strictly. In this case, police need to make good use of the knowledge l earnt from the training school and experiences from the senior officers as references. Police have to face thousands of decision making process at their work, for example, whether to arrest or warn a careless driver. Discretion power provides them a wide range of methods to enforce the law correctly. In this case, cop-culture may affect their perception about the criminal behavior or the criminals. Finally, it may change and control the results or even the justice directly. To combine different scholars studies about Cop culture, they tried to list a numerous of features to characterize cop-culture. They are a sense of mission, cynicism/pessimism, machismo, suspiciousness, internal solidarity/social isolation and conservatism. Robert Reiner (2000: 111-114) strongly emphasized the central feature of cop culture is a sense of mission. Police have a strong sense to protect the public and the weak, as it is not only their job but their way of life. They have strong commitment to this valuable work. About the cynicism/pessimism, it dominated the personalities of police officers. Because their work makes them the exposure to dangerous conditions, they become mistrust to the public or even everyone. Machismo is a product of the masculine ethos of the force and the tension built up by the work (Jewkes, Y. Letherby, G., 2002 : 276), it is a very typical sketch in every police force. With a cult of masculinity and the strong and aggressive self- images, this has great influence power on their attitude and behaviors towards offenders, victims and crime. Moreover, Skolnick (1966) introduced other three main characteristics in making of cop culture, they are suspiciousness, internal solidarity linked with social isolation and conservatism. It is all started from the job nature of police, the work of police is closely related to danger and risk. With this nature, police firstly become more suspicious of everyone in the society, probably, they are trained to be suspicious as to stop the danger matters as soon as possible, suspicious manner thus lead to social isolation which includes isolation from families, friends or the mainstream of community. They may think that all the people except their colleagues do not understand their works. As internal solidarity is linked with social isolation, they will also be mutually reinforced. It is easily to understand that because of that external social isolation, they will become more rely on their working partners, they will feel that only police officers will know and support their works, and th us enhance their internal solidarity. Conservatism is related to the traditional image of police, as they are the authority figures which upholding strong legitimate powers in the society, their working style will be conservative too. They will not be easily affected by other norms, such as they should not have any sympathies towards any crime related parties. Also, conservatism makes the police organizations lack of incentive to change and reforms. All of above features are not written as formal rules but they are all known by any police officers. According to Skolnick (1966), police view themselves as the safeguards of society, they are working in danger and they are required to be suspicious. They need to use their authorities to enforce the law as to protect the society. Within this framework, Skolnick (1966) pointed out the police always face a dilemma that we are working under pressure to achieve results in the form of law enforcement, but we are restricted by the rule of law to enforce the law Also, as their work are closely watched by the public every day ( Newburn. T Reiner. R, 2007: 918), these give the police work greater pressures, and thus provide them an environment to develop a set of unique culture for dealing with their works. And public may see this culture as deviant but it has been accepted and justified as normal in the cop-culture. Some other studies (Wortley, R, K., 1992) also noted Racial prejudice as a feature of cop culture. It is shown that police are targeted a specific races as their policing target informally. They believe they are the authorized moral judges in the community, so they are allowed to do some prejudge before the formal due-process. The important point is that they usually focus on the minorities and develop a certain unfair or discriminative attitude to deal with them. You may ask in what ways the police officers share these cop culture, and does it really so long-lasting? According to Andrew Brown (1995:26), culture is a product of historical process. When years and years pass, this has become a set of identical working style within the organization. Experiences are accumulated day by day, and become the history today. The shared norms and values are easily spread between department and officers. However, many criminologists wrote to criticize the existence of cop-culture. Most of their studies focused on problem of races and gender discrimination, and it raised the public attention on police abuse of discretion power or even more serious problem like, miscarriage of justice. Different scholars had brought out their complaints about the cop-culture, and have advocated kind of reform to stop the spread and development of the cop-culture. Is that really so serious that we need to restrict this internal culture within the police organization? Some recent scholars like, Chan (1996) and Waddington (2004) started to look cop-culture with a different angles and paint a new picture for it. They challenged the previous scholars about their conception of the cop-culture. According to Police (canteen) sub-culture: an appreciation of Waddington, P.A.J (2004), he tried to offer us an alternative view of cop culture which opposed the previous scholars understanding and criticisms about cop-culture. Waddington(2004) stated that it is only a canteen culture whereas we can treat it as an oral phenomenon, he emphasized the differences between talk and action( Waddington, 2004 : 364), we do not need to pay too much attention on their private talks in such private backstage like canteens where far away from public. He argued that it is only an act of storytelling. In some case is that senior officers make use of the channel to share their war stories with some exaggerate manners. However, we should believe the professional training as those police officers have abilities to determine its reality and decide whether to take it as reference or not. In addition, it can be a positive thing which provides them opportunity to express their emotions as they have already suffered from high pressure on their daily work. This police occupational culture also provides them an idea of spirit, it fosters a strong sense of cohesion between officers and thus enhances their working attitude. Officers believe that there is a mutual understanding which makes them find their own values within the organization and community. Waddington (2004: 375) also described this canteen culture is simply developed by a condition of talking a good fight , officers just want to glorify themselves, it is also related to their personalities of machismo. The process of glorification can definitely increase their self-esteem which makes them work harder and more efficient as to achieve the same goal and to maintain their internal working spirit. Moreover, Waddington, P.A.J. (2004) argued that cop culture is just an in-group culture, it is unnecessary to link this with the problem of race or gender discrimination. Also, those characteristics are just the way of police lives, we should not comment it as negative or even to reform their way of lives. It is meaningless to concern about the talk aspect, or we should pay more attention on their action indeed. Another key critique about cop-culture is proposed by Janet Chan (1996) recently. She made 4 main criticisms about the previous conceptions about cop-culture and its abilities to explain cop-culture. Firstly, Reiner (1992: 109) stated that the cop culture is not monolithic, universal nor changing. But Chan (1996) argued that the previous definitions are too simple and not universal. She concerns the failure of existing definitions of police culture to account for internal differentiation and jurisdictional differences. (Chan, 1996: 111) She stated that there must be different level of police sub-cultures inside the organization, but the previous scholars mostly just focus on the culture of street level, but they neglected the culture of management level. She criticized that the previous scholars could not provide a full definition and comprehensive conditions of cop-culture. Secondly, Chan (1996) argued that police officers are not like what Reiner (1992: 109) described as passive and being cultural dopes She also criticized Reiner did not make an detailed explanation about socialization of police officers. Every police officer has their own choice to decide whether absorb and transform the values, they will not follow those informal rules blindly. They can separate which are hero stories and which are real works and real world. Thirdly, Chan (1996: 112) proposed that A theory of police culture must, therefore, situate culture in the political and social context of policing. As the police is closely related to the society, it is impossible to extremely separated them. However, Chan (1996) found that the previous scholars failed to do this. No matter the street level and management level officers also need to respond to the public reaction. About those problems of injustice or corruption, police organization still have to react to these scandals. The final criticism is closely linked with the previous criticisms, according to Chan (1996:112), an all-powerful, homogeneous and deterministic conception of the police culture insulated from the external environment leaves little scope for a cultural change. She stated that the previous scholars were failed to examine the scope and possibilities for changing this cop-culture. Almost thirty years ago, people are started to pay attention on the police occupational culture which we named as cop culture nowadays. Police take an important role in our society, a minimal difference between their behaviors may result very differently. Most of the studies are focus on the street cop culture, especially those patrol officers. Cop culture is the shared values and norms within the police officers, although this culture will be varies from place to place, there are still some standard features in general. However, many scholars always defined cop culture as something negative and destructive to society. After a period of time, some current scholars argued that those previous criticisms about cop culture may not be correct in all cases, and made a newly and clear way for us to understand the concept about cop culture.

2005 Superbowl :: essays research papers

Pats vs. Eagles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the 2004-05 National Football League season, there was a lot of speculation about who would win the Super Bowl, just like every other year. As the regular season ended, it came down to just twelve teams, then eight, then four, then just two. Two teams who have worked very hard to represent their separate leagues, and the game they shared was a great one. Although the Philadelphia Eagles played a very good game and were able to put up 21 points, the 24 points by the New England Patriots, because of solid offence, sound defense, and a +2 takeaway margin, the Patriots were just too much to handle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Eagles came into this game with their star wide receiver injured. Terrell Owens, just two months earlier, was diagnosed severe sprain of his ankle's deltoid ligament and a fracture of his fibula. There was a lot of speculation about whether his ankle would be able to hold up, and it turns out his ankle would do just fine. Owens ended the game as the leading receiver for the Eagles with nine receptions for 122 yards and a long of 36. But this was not enough to keep the Eagles in this game. His quarterback, Donovan McNabb, threw an outrageous 51 times and completed 37 for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns. If this was all he did, these stats would have made him the Super Bowl MVP. However, McNabb also threw a season high 3 interceptions, and most of these were very uncharacteristic, and very unfortunate for the situation the Eagles were in. The running game was also non-existent, rushing for only 44 yards. The high number of mental errors by Philadelphia, along with th e lack of running game held them from scoring numerous times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Patriots did not have these mental mistakes. New England Quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady had a few early mistakes, and unforced fumble, and led his receivers into some dangerous situations, but after the first quarter, the Patriots offence started to click. Brady ended the game with 236 yards on 23 completions, and 2 touchdowns. New England also had the Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch, who left the game with a Super Bowl record 11 receptions for 133 yards. Passing is a very big part of football, and the key to a good passing game is a good running game.

Good Advice is Difficult to Define :: Definition Essays

Good Advice is Difficult to Define Advice is hollow, if you don’t know the history of the problem, or the amount of discomfort it is causing. When an expert relays advice or information they will not know the history or comfort level of their reader and will tend to try to generalize or speak to every possible situation. When the class considered the expert’s advice on contractions it was impossible for these authors to speak to their concerns and individual situations. I have very little experience in dispensing advice through writing to a large audience. My experience as an adviser has been restricted to verbal advice usually given one on one and face to face. When I am receiving advice this is also how I am most comfortable. I am also most comfortable giving advice about subjects that I have had formal training in. For example, I am comfortable giving advice about car mechanics, and sobriety. The former I have had over twenty years of training in and the later I had a year of formal and on the job training in a detox unit. I also have the life experience of being an alcoholic, but was not as comfortable about giving advice on this subject, until I had the formal training. I believe in order to give advice or hear advice, the adviser’s opinions or bias on the subject should be shared with the advisee up front. I have found this saves time for both of them because as in the case of my classmate who raced snowmobiles and ignored his parent’s advice, if you are not ready for or do not need information, it is seldom of benefit. I think in the case of the written advice examined in class, it was easier for the class to dismiss much of their expertise, because we were evaluating their opinions rather than being required to use their expertise by our professor. If the class had needed this information to receive a passing grade the reaction may have been different. This brings me to my next point, which is, the advisor is more effective when they understand what the advisee needs the advice for, and what their level of understanding is on the subject. If the advisee has some knowledge of the subject it is not helpful to talk down to them, but if they have little knowledge of the subject it is not helpful to delve into an in-depth discussion of every detail, using terms they don’t understand.

Night World : Huntress Chapter 4

Rule Number One of living with humans. Always wash the blood off before coming in the house. Jez stood at the outdoor faucet, icy-cold water splashing over her hands. She was scrubbing- carefully-a long, slim dagger made of split bamboo, with a cutting edge as sharp as glass. When it was clean, she slipped it into her right knee-high boot. Then she daubed water over several stains on her T-shirt and jeans and scrubbed them with a fingernail. Finally she whipped out a pocket mirror and examined her face critically. The girl who looked back didn't much resemble the wild, laughing huntress who had leaped from tree to tree in Muir Woods. Oh, the features were the same; the height of cheekbone, the curve of chin. They had even fined out a bit because she was a year older. The red flag of hair was the same, too, although now it was pulled back in an attempt to tame its fiery disorder. The difference was in the expression, which was sadder and wiser than Jez had ever imagined she could be, and in the eyes. The eyes weren't as silvery as they had been, not as dangerously beautiful. But that was only to be expected. She had discovered that she didn't need to drink blood as long as she didn't use her vampire powers. Human food kept her alive-and made her look more human. One other thing about the eyes. They were scarily vulnerable, even to Jez. No matter how she tried to make them hard and menacing, they had the wounded look of a deer that knows it's going to die and accepts it. Sometimes she wondered if that was an omen. Well. No blood on her face. She shoved the mirror back in her pocket. She was mostly presentable, if extremely late for dinner. She turned the faucet off and headed for the back door of the low, sweeping ranch house. Everyone looked up as she came in. The family was in the kitchen, eating at the oak table with the white trim, under the bright fluorescent light. The TV was blaring cheerfully from the family room. Uncle Jim, her mother's brother, was munching tacos and leafing through the mail. He had red hair darker than Jez's and a long face that looked almost as medieval as Jez's mother's had. He was usually off in a gentle, worried dream somewhere. Now he waved an envelope at Jez and gazed at her reproachfully, but he couldn't say anything because his mouth was full. Aunt Nanami was on the phone, drinking a diet Coke. She was small, with dark shiny hair and eyes that turned to crescents when she smiled. She opened her mouth and frowned at Jez, but couldn't say anything, either. Ricky, who was ten, had carroty hair and expressive eyebrows. He gave Jez a big smile that showed chewed-up taco in his mouth and said, â€Å"Hi!† Jez smiled back. No matter what she did, Ricky was there for her. Claire, who was Jez's age, was sitting primly, eating bits of taco with her fork. She looked like a smaller version of Aunt Nan, but with a very sour expression. â€Å"Where have you been?† she said. â€Å"We waited dinner almost an hour for you and you never even called.† â€Å"Sorry,† Jez said, looking at all of them. It was such an incredibly normal family scene, so completely typical, and it struck her to the heart. It was over a year since she had walked out of the Night World to find these people, her mother's relatives. It was eleven and a half months since Uncle Jim had taken her in, not knowing anything about her except that she was his orphaned niece and that her father's family couldn't handle her anymore and had given up on her. All these months, she had lived with the Goddard family- and she still didn't fit in. She could look human, she could act human, but she couldn't be human. Just as Uncle Jim swallowed and got his mouth clear to speak to her, she said, â€Å"I'm not hungry. I think I'll just go do my homework.† Uncle Jim called, â€Å"Wait a minute,† after her, but it was Claire who slammed down her napkin and actually followed Jez through the hall to the other side of the house. â€Å"What do you mean, ‘Sorry'? You do this every day. You're always disappearing; half the time you stay out until after midnight, and then you don't even have an explanation.† â€Å"Yeah, I know, Claire.† Jez answered without looking back. â€Å"Illtry to do better.† â€Å"You say that every time. And every time it's exactly the same. Don't you realize that my parents worry about you? Don't you even care?† â€Å"Yes, I care, Claire.† â€Å"You don't act like it. You act like rules don't apply to you. And you say sorry, but you're just going to do it again.† Jez had to keep herself from turning around and snapping at her cousin. She liked everyone else in the family, but Claire was a royal pain. Worse, she was a shrewd royal pain. And she was right; Jez was going to do it again, and there was no way she could explain. The thing was, vampire hunters have to keep weird hours. When you're on the trail of a vampire-and-shapeshifter killing team, as Jez had been this evening, chasing them through the slums ofOakland , trying to get them cornered in some crack house where there aren't little kids to get hurt, you don't think about missing dinner. You don't stop in the middle of staking the undead to phone home. Maybe I shouldn't have become a vampire hunter, Jez thought. But it's a little late to change now, and somebody's got to protect these stupid- these innocent humans from the Night World. Oh, well. She'd reached the door of her bedroom. Instead of yelling at her cousin, she simply half turned and said, â€Å"Why don't you go work on your Web page, Claire?† Then she opened the door and glanced inside. And froze. Her room, which she had left in military neatness, was a shambles. The window was wide open. Papers and clothes were scattered across the floor. And there was a very large ghoul standing at the foot of the bed. The ghoul opened its mouth menacingly at Jez. â€Å"Oh, very funny,† Claire was saying, right behind her. â€Å"Maybe I should help you with your homework. I hear you're not doing so great in chemistry-â€Å" Jez moved fast, stepping nimbly inside the door and slamming it in Claire's face, pressing the little knob in the handle to lock it. â€Å"Hey!† Now Claire sounded really mad. â€Å"That's rude!† â€Å"Uh, sorry, Claire!† Jez faced the ghoul. What was it doing here? If it had followed her home, she was in bad trouble. That meant the Night World knew where she was. â€Å"You know, Claire, I think I really need to be alone for a little while-I can't talk and do my homework.† She took a step toward the creature, watching its reaction. Ghouls were semi-vampires. They were what happened to a human who was bled out but didn't get quite enough vampire blood in exchange to become a true vampire. They were undead but rotting. They had very little mind, and only one idea in the world: to drink blood, which they usually did by eating as much of a human body as possible. They liked hearts. This ghoul was a new one, about two weeks dead. It was male and looked as if it had been a body-builder, although by now it wasn't so much buff as puffed. Its body was swollen with the gas of decomposition. Its tongue and eyes were protruding, its cheeks were chipmunk-like, and bloody fluid was leaking from its nose. And of course it didn't smell good. As Jez edged closer, she suddenly realized that the ghoul wasn't alone. She could now see around the foot of the bed, and there was a boy lying on the carpet, apparently unconscious. The boy had light hair and rumpled clothes, but Jez couldn't see his face. The ghoul was stooping over him, reaching for him with sausage-shaped fingers. â€Å"I don't think so,† Jez told it softly. She could feel a dangerous smile settling on her face. She reached into her right boot and pulled out the dagger. â€Å"What did you say?† Claire shouted from the other side of the door. â€Å"Nothing, Claire. Just getting out my homework.† Jez jumped onto the bed The ghoul was very big-she needed all the height she could get. The ghoul turned to face her, its lackluster bugeyes on the dagger. It made a little hissing sound around its swollen tongue. Fortunately that was all the noise it could make. Claire was rattling the door. â€Å"Did you lock this? What are you doing in there?† â€Å"Just studying, Claire. Go away.† Jez snapped a foot toward the ghoul, catching it under the chin. She needed to stun it and stake it fast Ghouls weren't smart, but like the Energizer Bunny they kept going and going. This one could eat the entire Goddard family tonight and still be hungry at dawn. The ghoul hit the wall opposite the bed. Jez jumped down, putting herself between it and the boy on the floor. â€Å"What was that noise?† Claire yelled. â€Å"I dropped a book.† The ghoul swung. Jez ducked. There were giant blisters on its arms, the brownish color of old blood. It rushed her, trying to slam her against the chest of drawers. Jez flung herself backward, but she didn't have much room to maneuver. It caught her in the stomach with an elbow, a jarring blow. Jez wouldn't let herself double over. She twisted and helped the ghoul in the direction it was already going, giving it impetus with her foot. It smacked into the window seat, facedown. â€Å"What is going on in there?† â€Å"Just looking for something.† Jez moved before the ghoul could recover, jumping to straddle its legs. She grabbed its hair-not a good idea; it came off in clumps in her hand. Kneeling on it to keep it still, she raised the sum bamboo knife high and brought it down hard. There was a puncturing sound and a terrible smell. The knife had penetrated just under the shoulder blade, six inches into the heart. The ghoul convulsed once and stopped moving. Claire's voice came piercingly from behind the closed door. â€Å"Mom! She's doing something in there!† Then Aunt Nan's voice: â€Å"Jez, are you all right?† Jez stood, pulling her bamboo dagger out, wiping it on the ghoul's shirt. â€Å"I'm just having a little trouble finding a ruler†¦.† The ghoul was in a perfect position. She put her arms around its waist, ignoring the feeling of skin slipping loose under her fingers, and heaved it up onto the window seat. There weren't many human girls who could have picked up almost two hundred pounds of dead weight, and even Jez ended up a little breathless. She gave the ghoul a shove, rolling it over until it reached the open window, then she stuffed and maneuvered it out. It fell heavily into a bed of impatiens, squashing the flowers. Good. She'd haul it away later tonight and dispose of it. Jez caught her breath, brushed off her hands, and closed the window. She drew the curtains shut, then turned. The fair-haired boy was lying perfectly still. Jez touched his back gently, saw that he was breathing. The door rattled and Claire's voice rose hysterically. â€Å"Mom, do you smell that smell?† Aunt Nan called, â€Å"Jez!† â€Å"Coming!† Jez glanced around the room. She needed something†¦ there. The bed. Grabbing a handful of material near the head of the bed, she flipped comforter, blankets and sheets over so they trailed off the foot, completely covering the boy. She tossed a couple of pillows on top of the pile for good measure, then grabbed a ruler off the desk. Then she opened the door, leaned against the doorframe casually, and summoned her brightest smile. â€Å"Sorry about that,† she said. â€Å"What can I do for you?† Claire and Aunt Nan just stared at her. Claire looked like a rumpled, angry kitten. The fine dark hair that framed her face was ruffled; she was breathing hard, and her almond-shaped eyes were flashing sparks. Aunt Nan looked more worried and dismayed. â€Å"Are you okay?† she said, leaning in slightly to try and get a look at Jez's room. â€Å"We heard a lot of noise.† And you'd have heard more earlier if you hadn't been watching TV. â€Å"I'm fine. I'm great. You know how it is when you can't find something.† Jez lifted the ruler. Then she stepped back and opened the door farther. Aunt Nan's eyes widened as she took in the mess. â€Å"Jez†¦ this does not happen when you can't find a ruler. This looks like Claire's room.† Claire made a choked sound of indignation. â€Å"It does not. My room's never been this bad. And what's that smell?† She slipped by Aunt Nan and advanced on Jez, who sidestepped to keep her from getting to the pile of blankets. Claire stopped dead anyway, her face wrinkling. She put a hand to cover her nose and mouth. â€Å"It's you,† she said, pointing at Jez. ‘You smell like that.† â€Å"Sorry.† It was true; what with all the contact she'd had with the ghoul, and the dirty knife in her boot, she was pretty ripe. â€Å"I think I stepped in something on the way home.† â€Å"I didn't smell anything when you came in,† Claire said suspiciously. â€Å"And that's another thing,† Aunt Nan said. She had been glancing around the room, but there was nothing suspicious to see except the unusual clutter-the curtains hung motionless over the shut window; the pile of bedding on the floor was still. Now she turned to face Jez again. â€Å"You didn't call to say you were going to miss dinner again. I need to know where you go after school, Jez. I need to know when you're going to be out late. It's common courtesy.† â€Å"I know. I'll remember next time. I really will.† Jez said it as sincerely as possible, and in a tone she hoped would close the subject. She needed to get rid of these people and look at the boy under the blankets. He might be seriously hurt. Aunt Nan was nodding. â€Å"You'd better. And you'd better take a shower before you do anything else. Throw your clothes in the laundry room; I'll put them in the wash.† She made as if to kiss Jez on the cheek, but stopped, wrinkled her nose, and then just nodded again at her. â€Å"And that's it? That's all?† Claire was looking at her mother in disbelief. â€Å"Mom, she's up to something, can't you see that? She comes in late, smelling like dead skunk and sewage and I don't know what, and then she locks herself in and bangs around and lies, and all you're going to say is Don't do it again'? She gets away with everything around here-â€Å" â€Å"Claire, quit it. She said she was sorry. I'm sure she won't let it happen again.† â€Å"If I did something like that you'd skin me, but, no, if Jez does it, it must be okay. Well, I'll tell you something else. She cut school today. She left before sixth period.† â€Å"Is that true, Jez?† a new voice asked. Uncle Jim was standing in the doorway, pulling at his chin with long fingers. He looked sad. It was true. Jez had left early to set up a trap for the vampire and shapeshifter. She looked at her uncle and made a regretful motion with her head and shoulders. â€Å"Jez, you just can't do that. I'm trying to be reasonable, but this is only the second week of school. You can't start this kind of behavior again. It can't be like last year.† He thought. â€Å"From now on, you leave your motorcycle at home. You drive to school and back with Claire, in the Audi.† Jez nodded. â€Å"Okay, Uncle Jim,† she said out loud. Now go away, she added silently. Thin curls of anxiety were churning in her stomach. â€Å"Thank you.† He smiled at her. â€Å"See?† Claire jumped in, her voice hitting a note to shatter glass. â€Å"This is just what I'm talking about! You never yell at her, either! Is it because you're afraid she'll run away, like she did from her dad's relatives? So everybody has to walk on eggshells around her because otherwise she'll just take off-â€Å" â€Å"Okay, that's it. I'm not listening to any more of this.† Aunt Nan waved a hand at Claire, then turned around to shoo Uncle Jim out of her path. Tm going to clean up the dinner table. If you two want to fight, do it quietly.† â€Å"No, it's better if they do their homework,† Uncle Jim said, moving slowly. â€Å"Both of you, do your homework, okay?† He looked at Jez in a way that was probably meant to be commanding, but came out wistful. â€Å"And tomorrow come home on time.† Jez nodded. Then both adults were gone, but Claire was staring after them. Jez couldn't be sure, but she thought there were tears in her eyes. Jez felt a pang. Of course, Claire was dead on about the leeway Aunt Nan and Uncle Jim gave her. And of course, it wasn't fair to Claire. I should say something to her. Poor little thing. She really feels bad†¦. But before she could open her mouth, Claire whirled around. The eyes that had been wet a moment ago were flashing. â€Å"You just wait,† she said. â€Å"They don't see through you, but I do. You're up to something, and I'm going to find out what it is. And don't think I can't do it.† She turned and stalked out the door. Jez stood for an instant, speechless, then she blinked and closed the door. She locked it. And then for the first time since she'd seen the ghoul, she allowed herself to let out a long breath. That had been close. And Claire was serious, which was going to be a problem. But Jez didn't have time to think about it now. She turned the clock radio on her nightstand to a rock station. A loud one. Then she flipped the covers off the foot of the bed and knelt. The boy was lying facedown, with one arm stretched over his head. Jez couldn't see any blood. She took his shoulder and carefully rolled him over. And stopped breathing. â€Å"Hugh.†