Author: admin

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Author

Institution

Introduction

Indeterminate sentencing refers to the sentence awarded to law breakers where the prison term imposed does not give a specific release date rather it gives a range of time like two-to-twenty years. This is different from structured sentencing where offenders are classified based on their crime’s severity and gravity and extent of their criminal record, both of which would inform the judges on the sentencing options as to the type and length of the sentences that should be imposed (Siegel, 2010). Some states have, however, abandoned indeterminate sentencing citing the fact that the model does not recognize the basic principle of awarding sentencing including equity, proportionality, as well as social debt (Siegel, 2010). Three types of structured sentences are used in the current justice systems including community, active (prison or jail) and intermediate. Nevertheless, intermediate sentencing has been more effective in deterring crime as the individuals would know that they are under constant watch, with the consequences hanging over their heads (Siegel, 2010).

Topic 2:

While indeterminate sentencing is yet to be entirely eliminated, some states abandoned it as it came with uncertainty and disparity on the length of sentence thereby introducing inequality (Fleisher & Krienert, 2006). Structured sentencing, on the other hand, involves the use of criminal record and gravity of the crime to determine the length and type of sentence to be given to an offender (Fleisher & Krienert, 2006). There are three models of structured sentencing including intermediate, active sentencing involving jail terms, and community sentences. Intermediate sentence model holds the best promise for long-term crime reduction considering that the individual offender would already be experiencing some mild consequences of the offense committed and still have something to lose if no change of behavior is noticed (Fleisher & Krienert, 2006).

Inmate Culture

Journal entries: Lady

Everything in this place seems ridiculous. The clothes are a far cry from fashionable, the food is not only stale but too little and there do not seem to be any room for anything. Sharing the sleeping space with strangers is undoubtedly not the best definition of a good place. When did prison warders become so mean? What does the older, more heavily built inmates gain by being mean to me? The screams in the dead of the night give some answers on why some people have bleeding faces or fearsome scars.

Journal Entries: Male prisoner

The bonds of brotherhood are broken immediately I enter the prison and new ones formed albeit at a too high price. Joining a team necessitates some sacrifices with some of the personal ideals being thrown out of the window. Sexual boundaries and ideals have are sacrificed, beatings endured, food foregone for older inmates, and an oath of silence despite all made. Now I understand why prison is not so desirable.

2. Incarcerating individuals is an efficient way of reforming individuals. Not only would the consequences be clear but also some lessons and rehabilitation programs are offered for reform. However, the fear of incarceration is not enough to deter crime as there are misconceptions about the same for individuals who are yet to be incarcerated. Individuals who are incarcerated have already gone through the system and see nothing big in the same.

Journals: Female inmate

The weight of the sentence is overbearing especially considering that I cannot see my relatives and friends as often as I want. Now I know how priceless freedom can be. I always assumed that we are sisters. This place proves otherwise. Everyone is mean to everyone despite the fact that we are under the same system. Damp and crowded living areas, unpleasant cellmates and the harassing older prisoners are the epitome of inhumanity.

Journal Entries: Male Inmate.

The first lesson is to forget everything one learnt in the outside world, of course, except any fighting lessons. They can come in handy here but they can spark chaos and revenge from which no warden or prisoner can protect you. One learns why human beings are animals, and why the word “savage” does not begin to describe the things that happen in prisons from fellow men.

Part 2. Based on the experiences in the journal entries, this is an extremely effective deterrent mechanism as it underlines the high price of these offenses. The fear of incarceration fails to deter crime as it is sometimes seen as a graduation or initiation stage to higher ranks in the criminal world.

References

Siegel, L. J. (2010). Introduction to criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Fleisher, M.S & Krienert, J.L (2006). The Culture of Prison Sexual Violence. New York: National Institute of Justice

Criminology and Trait theories

Criminology

Name

Institution

Criminology

Trait theories argues that criminal behavior stems from biological or psychological characteristics of an individual and, therefore, controls coping mechanisms and eventually they lead to criminal behavior. Modern trait theorists indicate that there is no single physical or biological element that can be used to explain crime, but instead every criminal has a unique set of features that explain their actions. In this way, such traits could be hereditary, other may have neurological problems and other findings show that criminals may possess blood chemistry disorders that enhance antisocial behaviors. For example, people who appear impulsive, daring and even aggressive are more likely to engage in criminal activities than individuals who delay gratification, seem guarded and sensitive to the needs of other people (Siegel, 2014).

The social conflict and critical criminology critiques the trait theories by arguing that criminal activities are fueled by social conflicts. Through the social conflict, based on the rich and the poor, the people in power generate laws that favor them and keep the poor in check. In essence, criminals are not just social misfits who have specific attributes, but individuals who have received the raw end of the struggle and seek alternative methods of gaining wealth, status and also survival (Siegel, 2014, p. 200).

The general theory states that people who lack self-control are often short-sighted, impulsive, risk-takers and insensitive to the feelings of others. The lack of self-control is not the main cause of criminal activity, but the absence of self-controls results in other “analogous” actions. In essence, because people with no self-control engage in impulsive actions, they also face problems in social interactions; easily engage in drugs, and other rude behaviors. This “generality” in general theory characterized by lack of self-control stems from parenting. In this way, parents need to recognize bad behavior and correct it appropriately (Siegel, 2014).

However, social conflict and critical criminology through instrumental theory declares that criminal activities occur because of the wide gap between the rich and the poor. Through the capitalist scheme, the poor result to crime owing to the natural frustration of seeing the affluence publicized but it becomes unattainable. The abuse of political, social or media power by the wealthy allows them to control the behaviors of the poor or marginalized, and the pressure results to crimes (Siegel, 2014, p. 203).

Reference

Siegel, L. (2014). Criminology: The Core. Kentucky: Cengage Learning.

Unification in USA 19th Century. Factors that led to the division of the united states of America as a nation

Name

Lecturer

Course

Date

Unification in USA 19th Century

Factors that led to the division of the united states of America as a nation There were a number of factors that led to the split of the United States of America as a nation in the ninetieth century. One of the major factors was the difference of the American people on ideological issues and the difference in individual income among the American populace. New Ideologies in the Early Nineteenth Century. For instance, ideals such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism and nationalism divided the population along their thought lines.

The Liberalists believed in the protection of the individual rights and freedoms. They also acknowledged the individual freewill to self determination.

This ideology was anchored on the economic, social and political liberty. The liberalist had the following aims in their political practice namely; the establishment and respect for individuals liberties and freedoms, they sought to the extension of voting rights to those of the middle classes such as the workers or the proletariats and lastly they wanted a free business franchise where trade was to be practiced with limited barriers if any and free from government control

Conservatives aimed to retain the already existing and established status quo. The proponents of this ideology acknowledged that change ought to come slowly and gradually. The two modes of thought hence, divided the citizenry in the execution of their political practice.

Next, socialists’ group arose as a result of reaction to liberalism, industrial capitalism and the pathetic conditions that the workers found themselves in. They then advocated for a utopian idea that was to see the means of production owned by the community members and aimed at doing away with the communal profiling that had come into place.

Nationalism was advocated by proponents who believed that a given group of people who share common tradition, culture identity can be called a nation. This group of people can then, safeguard their interests and hopes as well as collectively redress their fears and doubts. This ideology had allies and those against it in that, some saw it as a identifying with the dictates of liberalism.

America has also been divided due to difference in income distribution, for instances, there was chronic in equality income distribution with, major disparities being even worse as an individual moves to up in the income distribution especially between the top earners and the middle class.

This has been caused by factors such as, gender and race in equality, education and technology, incentives as well as taxation.

Factors that have promoted the unification of the united states as a nation.

The United States had grown into a unified country by the ninetieth century. This was driven by the belief that people of different nationalities can freely unite to safeguard their communal interests such as peace, freedom, economic well being and excreta.

Americans are united by commonly upheld ideologies such individuals being equal before the law, free citizens having a right to self determination, the upholding of the bill of rights among others. For example, the American constitution opens with the assertion that, they the American believe that each one of them was created by the almighty being and endowed with specific in alienable rights among them being; the right to life, freedom and pursuit for happiness.

They have equally been brought together by mutual concerns such as human welfare, economic empowerment etc. In addition, the Americans have been united by the common fight against ills such as slavery, racism, civil war and excreta.

Lastly, the desire to form a strong economic and military strength equally motivated their unification. This largely came in handy during the world wars.

Their desire to impact greatly on the international scene also motivated their coming together as a nation. This was because they wanted to influence the global politics and serve their citizens both at home and abroad.

Conclusion

The American population has been on the verge of split by a number of factors such as racism, ideological differences such as liberalism visa viz communism, economic in equality. But, the same nation has been brought together by common challenges such as civil war, slavery and excreta.

The attempts to give adequate redress to these problems that had plagued them motivated the motive of brotherhood hence their tangling together. For example, the civil conflict during Abraham Lincoln.

Last but not least, their participation in international affairs had to be done from a position of strength. This encouraged them to draw together in order to summon the mobilized wealth resources and human talent and potential. This would aid them in asserting their presence in the international plane.

Works Cited

Timothy Noah. “The United States of Inequality Entry 8” The Stinking Rich and the Great Divergence. Slate.com , 14 September 2010

Schiller & Bradely, The Economy Today: Ninth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Thompson, William & Joseph Hickey. Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2005.

George Mowry, The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900–1912 (Harpers, 1954)

Criminology Articles Summary

Name

Course

University

Tutor

Date

Criminology: Articles Summary

Bungay Vicky, Malchy Lesley, Buxton Jane, Johnson Joy, Macpherson Donald and Rosenfeld Theo. “Life with a jib: A snapshot of the street youth’s use of crystal methamphetamine, Addiction Research and Theory, 2006

In the article Life with a Jib, Bungay et al. (p. 235-251) state that there is increased use of crystal methamphetamine (CM) or jib among the Canadian street youths and this is should be a matter of concern. CM is a drug compound that has the ability to stimulate the central nervous system and result to symptoms such as alertness, restlessness, euphoria, and hyper-energetic, insomnia, and loss of appetite for food (Bungay et al., 236). The study findings are aimed in the provision of insight necessary for policy and planning of program for the purpose of providing treatment and support for the street youth involved in the use of jib.

Bungay et al. (p. 238-242) method involves a qualitative study in which street youth in the inner-city were questioned about their use of CM. The information was collected by use of semi-structured interview for 12 youths. Through the analysis of themes, the scope of the study entails the following four aspects, one, the pattern of jib use; two, the reasons for using jib; three, the downside of using jib, and four, management of jib use. These themes revealed the interrelationship between the use of drugs and street involvement as revealed in the discussion and findings.

In the findings and discussion, it is revealed that the prevalence of jib use occur within various youth groups of gender, age and ethnicity. However, the scope of this study is on the street youth whose use is more observed as compared to the rest of the population (Bungay et al., 238). The 12 interviewed youth use it on a daily basis and this started when they were between the ages of 15 and 16. Moreover, majority of the youth interviewed had not used jib until their involvement in the streets. Jib is also considered an alternative drug to other hard drugs such as marijuana and heroin. The street youth use jib in order to stay awake for the purpose of protecting belonging, or be able to move quickly whenever there is need to (Bungay et al., 239). The youth also use jib for the purpose of enhancing social interaction, cope with negative emotions, and as a way of seeking comfort and reassurance, just like what psychiatric services could offer. Jib also helps them to keep off the urge of food when they feel hungry but are unable to get food. The negative side of using jib includes harm to both the physical and mental health, and the youth also face isolation and exploitation (Bungay et al., 239). In jib management it is shown that the youth are knowledgeable about their use of drugs and are capable of creatively adapting to the negative consequences caused by the drug. Another key finding for the study is that social services agencies and health care professionals are not considered as helpful in the management of jib use and its side effects among the street youths.

Bungay et al., (p. 240) conclude that youths are likely to use drugs but the consequence of the use does not reflect the youth’s perceptions of the use. For example, youths use jib to stay awake, yet in reality, they cause damage to their central nervous system. Bungay, et al., implicate the study for social and support agencies to develop interventions that can assist the street youth overcome the potent harm caused by jib use.

Nee, Claire and Ghan Meena. “Expert decision-making in burglars,” International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology

In the article expert decision-making in burglars, Nee and Ghan relate the act of burglary to the cognitive process. Nee and Ghan state that cognitive play a role in the selection of property at scenes of crime. The study is aimed at providing further information to the academicians and policy makers involved in situational crime prevention. Nee and Ghan asserts that cognitive processing will assist in the speedily and methodically carrying out of tasks, and also in the recognition of relevant cues, and stimuli in an extremely instantaneous manner.

To illustrate the rationale Nee and Ghan generated data from interviews with 50 burglars who were experienced. The scope of the article focuses on aspects such as the initial decision to burgle and selection of the targeted location. It is therefore important for crime prevention agencies to consider the cognitive cues of the burglars when analyzing the location of crime. The findings of the study are aimed towards providing better primary and secondary crime prevention strategies by the crime prevention agencies.

The findings of the study reveal that 45 out of the 50 experienced burglars interviewed had a predictable search pattern. 37 out of the 45 described their searches by using terms that signify expertise, in the automatic handling of their burglary activities.

Nee and Ghan have incorporated several other study findings relevant to burglary and expertise and it shown that there is culture of smartness in the lifestyles of burglars. The type of information processed by burglars such as the choice of target, the level of access, area surveillability, and cues of occupancy determines the ways in which the crime will be performed, and crime prevention agencies should therefore study these patterns in order to come up with prevention strategies. Cognitive processes for situations enable the burglars to make decision as to whether they would enter property through open windows or doors, depending on the vulnerability of the site. Nee and Ghan observe that police novices need to come closer to the burglar expert in the way that the burglars process cues that symbolize target vulnerability. This recommendation results from the aspect that the methods used by novices to identify or defend against burglary do not bode well with ability to bring the burglars to apprehension. Novices should thus renew their efforts in handling burglary. Another notable finding is that re-victimization of locations that experienced burglary is very high as revealed by most studies (Nee and Ghan). The article therefore shows that unless the cognitive process of the burglars is learnt and used against the expert burglars, then the targets will continue experiencing the burglary problems. Nee and Ghan emphasize on the need of the police to alter the usual entrance of crime search in area that have experienced burglary. Moreover, burglars seem to navigate around the properties almost with a virtual automacity. Nee and Ghan notes that crime prevention specialists should also be at par with the high ability of expert burglars to use certain habits and alter them as need be. Nee and Ghan also note that there lacks a connection between the types of goods that the burglars target ad the level of planning for the burglar action. This shows that a lot of attention during planning is focuses on the entrance to the property as opposed to the goods that are targeted. Nee and Ghan suggest that this should also be considered in outlining crime prevention strategies.

Nee and Ghan conclude that the thought process of burglars during sections of the offence procedure may be analogous to those of an expert in any other crime domain, especially in terms of instantaneous recognition of speed, cues, and automaticity.

Paes-Machado, Eduardo and Levenstein Charles, “I’m sorry everybody but this is Brazil: Armed robbery on the buses in Brazilian cities.” The British Journal of Criminology, 2004

In ‘I’m sorry, everybody, but this is Brazil’ Pres-Machado and Levenstein (p.1-14) state that Brazil became one of the countries with the highest incident of violent crime in the Americas and this shocked many Brazilians. To examine the extent of the extent of violence and bribery in Brazil, Pres-Machado and Levenstein focus their study on the Brazilian transport system in high incidences of violent crimes had been reported. Pres-Machado and Levenstein (p.4) argue that criminal acts such as those that occurred in the Salvador bus network aimed to obtain money and valuables from the bus company and passengers and this disturbs the daily functioning of the of the public transport system as well as compromising safety of the people who depend on this facility.

Therefore, the scope of the article is to examine criminal activities in the Brazilian transport sector in which bus robbery is interpreted as a psychological power game that causes financial or property loss, racial tensions and harsh policing. The following key issues are addressed: one, the general condition of the Brazilian public transport-Salvador’s bus network; two, the rates of crime; three, the robbery scripts; four, racial tension, and six, policing tactics.

Pres-Machado and Levenstein (p. 6-11) demonstrate the method used to reach their findings and this involves conducting interviews with 191 people including bus workers, police officials, labor union officials, users, and managers. Additionally, Pres-Machado and Levenstein (p. 7) assert that the study touched on issues of race during the interviews because most of the robbers were black and mulatto youths. Additionally, 88 police records and 26 criminal investigations were examined. The study aimed to come up with information that could assist to curb the rising rate of crimes in public facilities.

The discussion and findings by Pres-Machado and Levenstein (p. 7-10) show that the Salvador’s bus network serves a population of 2 million people and a 710 square kilometer of area. The company also has 2, 400 vehicles that use 424 routes and provide 36 million passenger rides per month. On crime, it is reported that the 20, 572 bus robberies that were analyzed and registered within 10 years, excluded the crimes that bus workers and users experience when getting out of the bus, and this indicate that the crimes could be higher than the ones reported. Therefore, total value of losses would be higher and thus warrant the need for firms to fulfill legal liability by compensating. The nature of robberies included a female perpetrator assisting a group of males to commit the crimes and demographics show that 21 was the mean age of the perpetrators. Some were minors under 18 years of age, who assisted the adults. On ethnicity, 71.6 per cent of bus robbers were mulatto and 28.4 per cent were black while white perpetrators lacked. Most of the offenders were also from extreme poor backgrounds. Harsh policing was used and this resulted from the increased crime activities in early and mid 1990s that left many bus workers dead or injured. Policing strategies included holding campaign rallies that aimed to bring to light the problems in the transport sectors. The firms were asked to remove advertising papers on the back of bus windows and add security gadgets such as alarms.

Paes-Machado and Levenstein (p. 10) conclude that there should be implementation of improved social policies on policing especially those that target the poor and the black-mulatto youths.

Watson, Peter. “If it’s art, it must be fake”. London: New Statesmans, 1996

In the magazine article, if it’s art, it must be fake, Watson (p. 23-24) asserts that art works in the sales stores and show room are high likely to be fake until proven otherwise. Watson (p. 23) argues that the perception that art work is always unreal until proven otherwise results from the publicity given to the Holocaust art. Watson’s article intends to create awareness especially to the public interested in dealing in art works. Watson’s states that as the days go by, art stores continue to get filled by various antiques but very few are original when keenly analyzed.

A vast number of paintings and other objects swivel around the market and the sellers claim that these pieces of artwork were once owned by Jews before they were taken away from them by the Nazis. Moreover, such pieces of art are always introduced on a frequent time basis. The doubt looms over the fact that there lacks data which shows the number of the looted art works by the Jewish and how they are frequently discovered by the Jewish. Another source that questions the originality of the artworks concerns the general realizations that in works involving antiquity, the vast majority of the artworks in the market in New York and London, lack proof of history of origin, where they were found, or where they have been before being discovered by the sales people.

Watson (p. 23) analyzes these claims by observing the claim of Art Loss register in which when the firm started, the chairman commented that there were 25, 000 pieces of stolen arts in the firm’s database and that this increased to 100,000 in a year. However, fakes are apparent considering that there are very few matches to the original pieces of work that were stolen from the Jewish.

Watson (p. 24) observes that most dealers in the art world are reluctant to register their pieces by providing information of the originality and destination of the piece of work. There should be procedures requiring the dealer to state from whom they got the art from and under hose authority are the consignments being made. Nevertheless some auction houses have been urged to uphold the integrity on the usage of historic art by providing provenance for auctioned art pieces. Watson (p. 24) is glad that the public is quickly becoming aware of the proliferation of the fake art business. This is because the numbers of antiquities or stolen arts have started reducing in the shelves of art stores. Watson (p. 24) also believes that the fake business will be put in check if restrictions are intensified in terms of trade, import and export regulations, taxations, and passport. The harder it is made for the dealers to proliferate their business, the less there will be the occurrence of fake art materials, passing for the price of the original. Watson (p. 24) observes that such crimes cost the insurance companies in the UK over 250 million pounds every year and thus should be stopped. Technology can also be used to determine the integrity of the piece of art work through computer checks and analysis although measures should be put to ensure that this is done in integrity. Watson therefore shows that through stricter trade regulations and apprehension of criminals, very few thieves will be discouraged from performing such business and hence reduction of these cases will occur.

Works Cited

Bungay Vicky, Malchy Lesley, Buxton Jane, Johnson Joy, Macpherson Donald and Rosenfeld Theo. “Life with a jib: A snapshot of the street youth’s use of crystal methamphetamine, Addiction Research and Theory, 2006, 14(3): 235-251

Nee, Claire and Ghan Meena. “Expert decision-making in burglars,” International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology

Paes-Machado, Eduardo and Levenstein Charles. “I’m sorry everybody but this is Brazil: Armed robbery on the buses in Brazilian cities.” The British Journal of Criminology, 2004, 44(1): 1-14

Watson, Peter. “If it’s art, it must be fake”. London: New Statesmans, 1996,130: 23-24

US Fiscal Cliff

Name

Lecturer

Course

Date

US Fiscal Cliff

Fiscal cliff is an awaiting man made disaster in the United States of America (USA). It will officially effective as from the night of 31st, December, 2012. Even if there is a lot of disunity amongst the law makers regarding its implementation, Suzy suggests that they can decide to choose any of the recommended options (Calmes, J., 2012). These include adhering to the January proposal, cancelling some or all of these proposals or adopting an intermediary approach to address the proposed changes.

Hence, the scheduled tax increases and beget cuts will be introduced into the country without much opposition and adversely affecting the already strained US economy. Fiscal cliff aims at reducing the Federal Government’s expenditure and increase taxes for certain areas. In other words, there will be a great spending cut in some of the major areas such as military and Medicare doctors care. If this is effectively done, the government’s expenses will be cut by a very big percentage (Rosen, H.S., 2008). At the same time, the introduction of this policy will mark the end of the tax holidays and increase taxation by $. 7 trillion. Its successful enforcement will officially end the 2001-2003 tax cuts along side the Bush taxation policies.

Therefore, there will be an increment in government borrowing from the current $. 16.394billion. However, there are a lot of controversies surrounding this policy. Many law makers have different positions regarding how it should be done. While the fiscal drivers argue in favor of its enactment, several critics have come up to oppose the plan and view it as an ill informed ideology that will not improve the life of Americans, but jeopardize them (Michael, C. & Alm, R., 2009).

To the drivers, fiscal cliff will help in the reduction of Federal Government’s budget deficit by $. 560 billion. According to them, this will stabilize the economy and prevent the country from experiencing same economic recession which it had in 2011. This is a much undesired situation which caused a lot of problems including unemployment and undermined investors’ confidence. On the other hand, critics argue that this cliff will wreck a lot of havoc in this country. First, it is important to note that it is too rapid and huge to be effective in USA which is already facing lots of problems. Thus, it will not serve its purpose, but return the country to the past recessions.

AD-AS Graph

The above graph indicates that there will be a hard time ahead. Meaning, there will be unemployment and the loss of at least 2 million jobs. This is why people like Senator Murray Patty are openly opposed to it (Hellerstein, J.H. et al., 2011). However, I would like to recommend that this policy should not be implemented as scheduled. A part from its nature, there are a lot of controversies surrounding it. Hence, if rapidly implemented, it will not be able to serve its right role. Therefore, it should be upon president Barrack Obama and the Congress to consider deferring it until all the contentious issues are resolved.

I would like to recommend that the the ideologies of the Democrats and Republicans should not be taken for granted. Instead, they should be given enough time to deliberate over it and come up with amicable options. As William Gades emphasizes, all the issues concerning Bush taxation policies and Obama care must be agreed upon. Otherwise, it will not be advisable to implement the policy however appealing it may be (Bojas, G.J., 2007).

Conclusively, I would like agree that it is very important for the Federal Government of USA to come up with feasible measures to stabilize its economy. It is only through such a strategy that it will be in a position of addressing the numerous economic challenges facing its population. Otherwise, rapid implementation of this cliff in January will not be the best thing to do. It will end up damaging its growth, stock market and demoralizing investors.

Works Cited

Bojas, G.J. (2007) Labor Economics, Second edition. McGraw-Hill.Calmes, J. (2012). Recession Possible if Impasse Persists, Budget Office Says. The New York

Times.Hellerstein, J.H. et al. (2011) State and Local Taxation, Cases and Materials Eighth Edition.

Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Michael, C. & Alm, R. (2009) The myths of rich and poor: why we’re better off than we think.

New York: Basic Books.

Rosen, H.S. (2008). Public Finance. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irvin.

Crisis Communication- Jeddah Flood

Crisis Communication:

Jeddah Flood

(Author’s name)

(Institutional Affiliation)

Crisis Communication:

Jeddah Flood

The following article presents a blog on crisis communication management. Accordingly, it will be a combination of what has been taught in the coursework, as well as, real life events in the society today. The main purpose of the blog is to identify some of the common crises that have occurred in society, as well as, the different responses that have been embraced for these crises. Before jumping on to the issue at hand, it is my responsibility to help you, the readers, understand the meaning and importance of some of the concepts to be presented in the blog. Firstly, the term crisis defines an unpredictable event that threatens the wellbeing of a particular society. Crises may impact performance in society, and in turn generate numerous negative outcomes for those involved. Crisis communication, on the other hand, is the process through which a message is passed concerning a particular crisis that is of interest. It allows the prevention of the negative consequences of crises by encouraging prevention, preparation, response and revision of the crisis. Because it is normal for things to unexpectedly occur, there is a need for the acknowledgement of these crises and the methods through which they can be dealt with.

Today’s topic is centered on the Jeddah Flood that has been a common occurrence in Saudi Arabia for the last few years. Year after year, this flood has climbed the lives of many Saudi nationals, with the combined death tolls reaching up to thousands. What is interesting about this flood is that it continually devastates one of the world’s richest countries, and cosmopolitan countries in the world. With such a description, one would expect that the state would have established a proper crisis management strategy to prevent the occurrence of the flood. Characteristically, government officials have embraced the blame gamein defense of their poor crisis response and communication activities. They constantly go into a state of denial then followed by blaming the victims for their lack of adherence to the rules regarding the response procedure in the event of a flood in the area. All government initiatives such as the formation of committees for the establishment of apposite response procedures and the use of contractors for the reconstruction of the city to prevent the negative consequences of the floods have been a total failure, thus illustrating an underlying problem in the state’s ability to manage crises. For that reason, the flood keeps occurring every year, with the same disastrous effects preventing the state from growth and development.

Having identified the Jeddah flood as a crisis with the potential for reoccurrence, the next articles will present reflections on people’s reactions towards the crisis of the Jeddah flood. I will discuss some of the lessons learnt from the Jeddah flood, as a way of identifying the successes and failures of the crisis response. Because the Jeddah flood is likely to occur again, I believe that it identifying some of the mistakes that were made during this response will be the next step towards the prevention of another similar crisis. The subsequent articles will act as learning tools for readers on the different ways that organizations and professionals communicate messages in the events of crises.

This paper gives an analysis of American Hunger in relation to Richard Wrights background.

Name

Lecturer

Course

Date

American Hunger

Summary

This paper gives an analysis of American Hunger in relation to Richard Wright’s background. It does this by comparing the relationship between these celebrated autobiographies to the life experiences of this legendary African American revolutionary writer. American Hunger was written by this author and published I the year 1945 by Harper and Brothers Publishers. In this book, Wright explores his childhood experiences in the southern American territory before relocating to Chicago, New York and Paris where meets new people who would later determine his future. As he recounts, his experiences in Chicago as an African American makes him realize the plights of this minority immigrant group. Even after changing his political affiliation by joining the Communist Party, he still faces a lot of challenges which eventually compels him to join a different kind of revolution.

As was established, this was a true representation of the events he faced during his life time. At the beginning, he records on his childhood and discusses about the kind of family he was brought up into. It is true that his father was an irresponsible man who had disserted them. Therefore, he had to be cared for by his ailing mother, conservative granny, uncles and ants. Later, he went to school and excelled in his exams. This exposed him to the rest of the world because he would later venture into job seeking. After landing into his first job, he realized that it was extremely difficult to cope up in the racial American society. Later, he decided to join the Communist Party before being forced to withdraw membership to join writing through which he would liberate the oppressed African Americans.

All the information recorded in this autobiography was influenced by Wright’s life. After having such a turbulent childhood, he was to face the extremely racial South American society. Later, he decided to relocate to the north before joining the Communist Party and travelling across the whole world in the pursuit for political revolution.

CRISIS OF REPRESENTATION

Author

Tutor

Course

Date

Introduction

Art has been regarded as one form of expression and representation that requires a lot of creativity. This is especially having in mind that it is supposed to be passing a certain message to those who get a chance to see it. This message may be about occurrences in the past, the present or even the future as the artist sees it. However, it is noteworthy that art has not been spared the dynamism that has come with changing times. In the 19th century, quite a number of artists produced memorable artworks that propelled them to an entirely new level of mortals. It is noteworthy that, as much as those artworks incorporated some realistic part it also incorporated some ideal or rather exaggerated part, testament to the painters’ creativity. The changing expectations, experiences and audiences, encouraged the artists to try out new approaches for representing history. It is noteworthy that quite a large number of paintings of modern events were used as weapons of political propaganda, as well as instruments of social reform and political critique. In quite a large number of instances, the artists distorted truth and used familiar formulas to as to convey favorable associations. Two pieces of art that stand out in their representation are the Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet and Third of May by Francisco Goya.

Gustave Courbet, Burial at Ornans, 1849. Oil on canvas, 315 x 668 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

The Burial at Ornans refers to a wonderful painting that incorporated numerous elements aimed at making a statement and disturbed the acceptable norms of France in mid 19th century. At the time of making this piece of art, there were norms that were considered acceptable as far as the way the Parisians wanted their beliefs to be incorporated in the paintings about the countryside was concerned. It is noteworthy that they expected paintings to incorporate order and harmony with nature, as well as make representations pertaining to the catholic piety. It is, therefore, understandable that the painting attracted a lot of criticism as it revolved around an insignificant subject, the burial of an unknown peasant. This, however, was the realistic part of the painting; that it presented an everyday event, where a group of peasants all in black are standing a newly-dug grave before the burial (Rosenblum and Janson, 56). Rather than capturing the actual ceremony’s culminating moment, Courbet chose to concentrate on the moments prior to its taking place thereby making the viewer to feel part of the ceremony.

One issue that is ideal in the piece of art is the concept of the burial ground. It is noteworthy that peasants did not have proper burial grounds like these at this time. In fact, this concept aroused a reaction from the people who criticized the idea that peasants deserved to have formal burial grounds.

One element of realism that comes out clearly is shown by the directions where the viewers are looking. In most cases, classical art is known stage and balance everything pertaining to such occasions. In such cases, the viewers would have no problem knowing where to look as everything would be directed to it. However, this painting depicts a lot of confusion, realism and dynamism. It is noteworthy that real processions look this way, where everyone would be coming up, and gathering around slowly, as well as concentrating on varied directions.

In the painting, a cross is clearly visible above the mourners’ and religious officials’ head. A gentleman in white gloves is holding Christ’s figure on a staff. This, however, looks like an entirely separate entity in the hilltop. It is noteworthy that the occasion depicted here is a religious ceremony, in which case religion is quite crucial here. However, Courbet seeks to undermine the church authority. Church officials are depicted as the beadles, the figures in red who helped at religious functions. When the viewers inspect them closely, the beadles seem to have red cheeks and bulbous noses, which attest to their drunken state. This is obviously extremely offensive to the city dwellers who would not want the church leaders to be less than idealized as it was the case at the time (Rosenblum and Janson, 78). This, therefore, speaks of the real picture or nature of the church officials at that time, something that not many people would have illustrated so openly.

Francisco Goya, Third of May, 1808, 1814-1815. Oil on canvas, Museo del Prado.

Goya set himself apart as far as using his brushwork to stress the realistic rather than the idealistic or classical. In essence, it is not surprising that his painting, christened The Third of May 1808, takes on a relatively realistic approach or depiction. This piece of art incorporates blazing color, as well as broad, fluid brushwork coupled with a dramatic nocturnal light that illuminates the figure of a terrified man just about to be executed(Justus 84). This painting was made in 1814 after Spain was liberated from the French occupation by Napoleon during the Peninsula War. Goya explained that he wanted to use his brush to illustrate the most heroic and notable scenes and actions of the most glorious insurrection against Europe’s tyrant. This piece of work was essentially the commemoration of the arrest and the eventual execution of the people of Madrid on 3rd May 1808 carried out by the Napoleonic army after a civilian revolt.

In the picture, a lantern lights up the dark scene, bringing about a dramatic contrast into the compressed composition. This lantern highlights the kneeling Spaniard who is the picture’s focal point. Realism comes out clearly in the depiction of the church, standing silently in the background, just as it took the backseat as the French invaders exerted cruelty on the Spaniards. It is noteworthy that, the ground in the foreground is stained by the blood of the Spaniards who have already been executed something that speaks of realism at the time of the French invasion.

However, this piece of art incorporates idealism in the form of the man who awaits his execution. The man fearlessly faces his executors, and throws out his arms in a manner to suggest that he is throwing his entire life to the murderers’ faces. He is, therefore, some political martyr, which is ideal in any human society (Justus, 87). Goya, however, has been able to distil the horrors that many people witnessed during the occupation into a breathtaking image depicting the war’s reality.

In conclusion, artworks evolved due to the changing perceptions, expectations and audiences that they targeted. Most of them, however, incorporated a realistic and an idealistic part, with the theme guiding the prominence of one representation. Both of the paintings covered here illustrated the events in the way they occurred or happened, while offering criticism to the accepted social norms. They also showed the things that many people would have shied away from depicting.

Works cited

Rosenblum, Robert and Janson, Horst Woldemar. 19th century art. New York: Abrams, 1984. Print

Justus, Kevin. “Art and Culture II.” Arizona: Tucson, 1992. Print

(Justus)

(Rosenblum and Janson)

This paper gives a critical comparison of Amy Tan Two Kids and Gish Jens Whos Irish

Name

Lecturer

Course

Date

Assimilation

This paper gives a critical comparison of Amy Tan’s Two Kids and Gish Jen’s Who’s Irish? These are two invaluable novels written by reputable authors to give a detailed analysis of the assimilation process in the highly diversified American society especially in the second half of the 20th centuries. The two books were written by the American authors who are known to have been enjoying a mixed identity as a result of immigration of their parents from their original homelands into the United States of America (USA). Meaning, they share a lot of similarities and differences in their presentations. This can be found in the use of stylistic devices, settings and themes.

As already highlighted, the Two Kids was written by Amy Tan. She is an American novelist who was born and raised by her parents of Chinese descent. After being born in the year 1952, Tan was taken to Switzerland by her mother, Daisy. After completing her secondary education here, she proceeded to San Jose State University where she pursued a Bachelors Degree in Linguistics before going to UC Berkeley for her doctoral studies. Just like in this novel, most of her writings are centered on family conflicts especially between the mother and daughter. On the other hand, Who’s Irish? was written by Gish Jens. Jens belongs to the second generation of American-Chinese. Her parents migrated to USA from China in the 1940s slightly before she was born. In 1955, she was born in New York City before relocating to Yonkers and Scarsdale where she grew up. Later, she completed her education at the prestigious Harvard University. As a contemporary American author, Jens has been credited for writing invaluable novels sensitizing readers on the mixed US culture (Mona, N., 2006).

In the Two Kids, Tan brings out a clear theme of conflict. There is a great conflict between Jing-Mei Woo and her mother. They disagree in most of the issues concerning their lives especially Woo’s career. Her mother does not give her freedom to choose the type of profession to pursue. Instead, she often imposes on her certain activities that she believes are suitable for her as her beloved daughter. At the beginning, she urges her to be a child prodigy. She has very high expectations for her because she wants to be made a proud mum of a successful child. This makes her decide to take Woo to a beauty school in order to enable her become a successful actress just like the other role models she had known before. However, this does not work out because she does not leave the college with pleasing results. The narrator says, ‘she came out of the school looking like a Negroid Chinese!’

Despite such a disappointment, her mother never gave up. She was still determined to get the best out of her. Hence, she took Woo to perform a series of tests to gauge her pomading abilities. According to her, she thought that this was a very simple test that Woo would perform without any problem. After all, she used to read about Woo’s age mates who had excelled in such tests. However, never came to be since Woo could not stand on her head. She was also not able to memorize the capital cities of all the countries she was given. Moreover, Woo failed to perform a simple task of predicting the whether of Los Angeles, a very simple task that anyone could do. After realizing such disappointing results in these tests, Woo lost interest and finally stopped making any trial. This was so demoralizing to her mother who later compelled her to playing piano.

In Who’s Irish, Jens presents the theme f conflict in a narrator’s family. There is a very great disagreement between the narrator, grand mother, son, daughter in law, and Sophie. In the first place, the grand mother is portrayed as a very wild old lady. She is so authoritative and imposes conservative ideas on everyone. Because of sharing different world views, she disagrees with most of the opinion of other people in her family. For instance, she conflicts with his daughter Natalia and son in law John over the best way to instill discipline on their children. Whereas the young couple advocate for a friendlier punishment, the granny insists on corporal punishment. Hence, when infuriated by Sophie, she spanks her using a cane. This does not please John who later disagrees with her to decease from such a brutal conduct.

Meanwhile, there is a conflict among Sophie, Narrator, Sinbad’s mother and the grandmother. When Sophie is taken to play at the park, she interacts with a subversive kid who misleads her to disobey her parents. A result, she decides to kick Sinbad’s mother. This forces the Narrator to spank her for his mischievous behavior. However, this is not taken lightly by Sophie who ten decide to hide in the foxhole which had been dug by the grandmother. Because of this, she throws her with dirt. After the Narrator punishing her, both John and Natalia became so infuriated. Instead of commending the narrator for instilling discipline in their daughter, they openly condemn her for bruising their kid (Gerald, P., 2000).

It is important to acknowledge that these novels are giving out a very clear message to the readers. They make us understand the nature of life in a highly dynamic society in which people from different backgrounds are supposed to adapt to the new environment and harmoniously live together. While Tan sensitizes the readers on the dangers of conformity, Jens brings out a more liberal view which enriches the readers’ minds with assimilation process in such situations. Jing-Mei Woo found herself in problems because of the unlimited demands of her mother. Instead of understanding the different abilities of kids, she believes that all children are equal and can perform similar tasks. This is why she was forcing her daughter to perform similar duties she had seen other do. This is typical of a family conflict which may stem from confusion and unplanned adaptation into new cultural practices.

On the other hand, Jen brings a different kind of conflict which is brought by cultural practices. The positions taken by the Narrator, John, Natalia and grand mother portray them as people who represent different cultural ideologies. Narrator is a conservative character. Her disciplinary approaches represent old ideas and are obsolete. They do not apply to the current generation which needs to be nurtured and treated cautiously. On the other hand, John and Natalia represent the current population which believes in liberalism and freedom. This is typical of the contemporary American society which is characterized by freedom, democracy and plurality. Lastly, the Grand mother is brought up as a dynamic character that belongs to the conservative and liberal groups. She is not so rigid in her ideologies. Hence, she plays a role of an intermediary who connects the old ways to the modern ones (Branda-Williams, N., 2009).

Conclusively, I would like to agree that Who’s Irish and Two Kids are invaluable novels. They were written by renowned authorities who have sensitized the readers on different aspects of assimilation. Despite their differences, we can use them to learn that it is good to be dynamic individuals who can cope up with life in any kind of the environment. If we learn to be flexible, we can exist in a harmony without being at a logger horns with any of us.

Works Cited

Branda-Williams, N. (2009)Interethnic Relationships in Chang-rae Lee’s Native Speaker and

Gish Jen’s Birthmates. Finland: University of Joensuu.

Gerald, P. (2000) A Quartet of Voices in Recent American Literature.”She hates to write but her

dad madeher. Philippine American Studies Journal, 1991; 3: 1-8.

Mona, N. (2006) Material Bodies and Performative Identities: Mona, Neil, and the Promised

Land. Philip Roth Studies, 2006 Fall; 2 (2): 102-20.