Safe Haven Essay Example for Free

Safe Haven Essay A young woman flees her house after being shown in possession of a bloody knife. She is shown moments later buying a bus ticket, her hair now cropped and bleached, and stops at a small North Carolina town called Southport. At the general store, she introduces herself as Katie. After acquiring a job as a waitress and buying a small house on the edge of town, Katie becomes friends with her neighbor, Jo and meets handsome Alex Wheatley,the manager of a local convenience store, and his two children, Lexie and Josh. Alexs wife tragically died of cancer a few years prior. Alex immediately takes a liking to Katie, doing small helpful things, such as leaving an old bike at her house. They go on a family trip to the beach, and Alex asks her to go canoeing with him, after which, they fall in love. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mothers replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin, a husky Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, sends out reports saying that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and becomes angry that she didnt trust him enough to even tell him her real name, Erin. The picture flashes to Kevins boss confronting him at work, pointing out he always carries a water bottle that turns out to be filled with vodka, and reveals that Erin was Kevins wife. Directly afterward, Katie is shown packing while talking angrily with Jo. Alex drives over to Katies house to talk to her, only to discover that she left. He drives to the nearest ferry and admits hes fallen in love with her and promises to protect her no matter what. Initially, Katie wants to flee but then she decides to stay in Southport and she and Alex help prepare the town for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Later, Katie tells Alex that Kevin is her husband, whom she stabbed with a kitchen knife in order to protect herself from his drunken assault. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Katies grandmothers home and finds the phone number to the Southport restaurant that employs Katie. He finds the location and makes his way there, very noticeably drunk. Arriving just on time for the Fourth of July parade, Kevin begins his search for Katie through the crowd, belligerent. He finally finds Katie dancing with Josh and watches as Alex leans over to kiss her, which makes him angry. Later, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that he is here. Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a fast asleep Lexie. While she is walking around in the store, Kevin makes his appearance and confronts her, drunk and sobbing and asking her to talk. He asks her to go back home with him, but she refuses and tells him to leave. He pulls out a revolver while Katie asks Lexie to stay up in the second floor of the store, scared that she might see Kevin and become frightened. Meanwhile, Kevin is pouring gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down. He sits down on the steps with a lighter, deep in thought, and Katie fakes sympathy for him and agrees to return home with him, only to push him into the water by surprise. However, a firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that spreads all over the store. Alex, busy shooting off fireworks, sees the burning store and quickly makes his way across the lake by boat. He manages to make his way up to the second floor and rescue Lexie from the burning building. Meanwhile, Katie is wrestling with a soaked Kevin who is attempting to shoot her. After a long struggle, she grabs a hold of the gun and kills him. Soon after, Alex finds Katie and they embrace. In the aftermath, Alex riffles through a desk belonging to his late wife, where he finds multiple letters she prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Joshs eighteenth birthday and Lexies wedding day. Alex gives Katie a letter with the words For Her on the envelope. The letter talks about how if someone is receiving this letter, then Alex loves her without a shadow of a doubt. She says she is thankful for whomever is now reading the letter and thanks the reader for making Alex feel young and in love again. The movie ends by revealing that Jo was actually Alexs dead wife who left town moments before.

MidTerm Study Guide Essay Example for Free

MidTerm Study Guide Essay The Midterm Exam is open book, open notes. The maximum time you can spend in the exam is 3 hours. If you have not clicked the Submit For Grade button by then, you will be automatically exited from the exam. In the Midterm Exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, so you will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications. 2. You should click the Save Answers button in the exam frequently. This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet Service Providers, and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your Internet connection does break, when you reconnect, you will normally be able to get back into your Midterm Exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to re-login as quickly as possible. The Help Desk cannot grant any student additional time on the exam. 3. See the Syllabus Due Dates for Assignments Exams for due date information. 4. Reminders You will only be able to enter your online Midterm Exam one time. Click the Save Answers button often. If you lose your Internet connection during your Midterm Exam, logon again and try to access it. If you are unable to enter the Midterm Exam, first contact the Help Desk and then your instructor. You will always be able to see the time remaining in the Midterm Exam at the top right of the page. 5. Assessments with Multiple Pages Make sure you click the Save Answers button before advancing to the next page (we also suggest clicking on Save Answers while you are working). Complete all of the pages before submitting your Midterm Exam for instructor review. Do NOT use your browsers Back and Forward buttons during the Midterm Exam. Please use the provided links for navigation. 6. Submitting Your Midterm Exam When you are finished with the Midterm Exam, click on the Submit for Grade button. Please note: Once you click the Submit for Grade button, you will NOT be able to edit or change any of your answers. 7. Exam Questions There are 10 randomly selected multiple choice questions each worth 5 points for a total of 50 points. The Midterm Exam covers TCOs 1-4, 8, 11, and 12 and Weeks 1–5. The Midterm Exam contains two pages, which can be completed in any order. You may go back and forth between the pages. The Midterm Exam questions are pooled. This means that not everyone will have the same questions. Even if you do have some of the same questions, they may not be in the same order. These questions are distributed amongst the TCOs. The entire exam is worth 200 points. On the essay questions, your answers should be succinct, should fully address each part of the question, and should demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete answer. Most essay questions require answers that are a couple of paragraphs (not a couple of sentences) that directly speak to each part of the question. Some students opt to work on the essay questions first, due to their higher point value and the length of time needed to adequately address each question, but this is entirely your choice. Remember to always use proper citation when quoting other sources. This means that ANY borrowed material (even a short phrase) should be placed in quotation marks with the source (URL, author/date/page #) immediately following the end of the passage (the end quote). Changing a few words in a passage does NOT constitute putting it in your own words and proper citation is still required. Borrowed material should NOT dominate a student’s work, but should only be used sparingly to support your own thoughts, ideas, and examples. Heavy usage of borrowed material (even if properly cited) can jeopardize the points for that question. Uncited material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam. As a part of our commitment to academic integrity, your work may be submitted to turnitin. An online plagiarism checking service. Please be VERY mindful of proper citation. 8. Some of the key study areas are below. Although these are key areas, remember that the exam is comprehensive for all of the assigned course content and that this study guide may not be all inclusive. TCO 1 Definitions of Technology and Science, the Three Technological Revolutions, Technological Systems, Week 1 Lecture, Week 1 Readings TCO 2 – Technology and Historical Change, the Industrial Revolution, Technologies in Different Cultural Contexts, Week 2 Lecture, Week 2 Readings TCO 3 – Technology and the Arts, Digital Technologies, Collaborative Technologies, Week 4 Lecture, Week 4 Reading TCO 4 – The Cultural Impact of Technologies (Computers, Cell Phones), Technologies as Artifacts and Ideas, the Social Shaping of Technology, Week 3 Lecture, Week 3 Readings TCO 8 The Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine, Determinism and Its Critics, Week 2 Lecture, Week 2 Readings TCO 11 – Research Methods, Research Sources, Week 1 Tutorial TCO 12 Potential Impact of Emerging Technologies (GMOs, nanotechnology, robotics), Week 3 Lecture, Week 3 Readings 9. The readings from the first four weeks are emphasized in this exam. Please make sure that these are read and that you participate in the discussion of these readings. Areas that were discussed in the threads will be prime targets. 10. Assignments will also be prime targets for revi siting. 11. Reviewing the TCOs, which I have listed below for your convenience, will also be a great preparation for the Midterm Exam. 1 Given one or more examples of major technology development projects based on scientific theory, such as controlled heavier-than-air flight or the Manhattan Project or cloning, develop a definition of technology that includes a clarification of its relationship to science. 2 Given a historical turning point, such as the fall of the Roman Empire, the Crusades, the Protestant Reformation, the growth of cities, or the collapse of the Soviet Union, establish the role of technology in triggering the event and shaping its outcomes. Given an account of a stylistic trend in an art such as painting, music, literature, theater, or film, determine what technologies were involved and how they affected the evolution of the respective art. 4 Given examples of the widespread adoption of a technology that changes the culture of a society (e. g. , cars, computers, cell phones, etc. ), analyze the technology and the patterns of its adoption to identify the sources of the technologys influence. 8 Given a consequential technological invention, such as the printing press, the telephone, the automobile, the microchip, or the Internet, assess the cultural, economic, or social changes brought about by the invention. Given a process for defining and limiting a topic, participate in a research project as a member of a student team that investigates, formulates, and presents its analysis of (a) an issue associated with a technology, (b) the characteristics of the technologys development, (c) its present and likely future impact, and (d) the ethical or moral issues arising from the development or implementation of that technology. 12 Given an emerging technology, evaluate its future prospects by identifying the cultural and social factors that may prevent or promote its successful application. Finally, if you have any questions for me, please post them to our Q ; A Forum or e-mail me. Good luck on the exam!

Causes of Different Types of Crimes

Causes of Different Types of Crimes Deviant behaviors are those behaviors that society does not like because the society does not see the behavior as a normal behavior for that society. Like gay marriages or cross dressers. Deviant behavior that is criminal is when the behavior becomes harmful to those in the society. Like murdering a person. A behavior that is criminal but not deviant would be driving under the influence or being intoxicated in public. A behavior that is deviant but not criminal would be a teenager with piercings and tattoos all over their body. A behavior that is both deviant and criminal would be spousal abuse. Society determines which behaviors are deviant and which are criminal. Governments or even individuals can convince local authorities that a deviant act is criminal or vice versa. Criminal laws vary because the laws are imposed by the local authorities so the laws will be different from city to city, state to state, or even town to town. Criminologists utilize three primary sources of data that provide information on the nature and extent of crime. Identify and explain each of these three different sources of crime data. Also, assess the strengths and weaknesses of each source. Finally, provide an example of a research question that a criminologist may be interested in examining and then explain which source of crime data the researcher would need to utilize to answer his/her question. The three primary sources of data that can provide information on the nature and extent of crime are (1) crimes that get reported to the authorities, this includes the uniform crime reports and the national incident based reporting system (2) victimization surveys which includes the national crime victimization survey and (3) the self-report surveys that include the monitoring the future studies. The uniform crime reports are recorded by the FBI and include all the crimes that have been reported to the authorities and how many arrests are made. The report that the FBI makes is sectioned out by city and county by the most serious crimes that occurred. These are called part I crimes and part II crimes Part I crimes include things like rape, robbery and burglary whereas part II crimes include sex crimes and other types of crimes not defined in the part I crimes. A strength for the UCR is the way that the data is collected makes the UCR a good indicator of patterns in crime. A weakness for the UCR is that many crimes are not reported to authorities and therefore do not get counted. The national incident based reporting system goes a step further than the UCR does in that it requires local authorities to provide a report of the arrest that includes details of the incident and also information on the victim and the criminal. These reports are sent to the FBI for only certain offenses that include not only the offenses that the URC covers but also includes white collar crimes and drug offenses. A strength of the national incident based reporting system is that it includes more details on the crimes than the UCR does which will hopefully improve how accurate the crime data is. A weakness of the NIBRS is that it only reports crime that have been reported to authorities it does not include crimes that have taken place but not reported by the victim. The national crime victimization survey is a survey that the census bureau does for the bureau of justice statistics on a yearly basis. The survey collects information from individuals about crimes even if they were not reported to the police. The survey collects information on the victim, offender and the crime that took place. People that are raped are more likely to report on the survey the crime instead of reporting it to the police because of fear, shame or embarrassment. A strength of the NCVS is that it includes crimes that are not reported to police by using a survey once a year. This allows the NCVS to give a more current picture of the annual crime that is taking place. A weakness for the NCVS is that it relies too much on the person taking the survey and hopes that the person remembers the crime correctly. If they dont remember it correctly then the crime gets reported incorrectly. Monitoring the future studies is a type of self-report survey that allows information on crimes to be collected without the person being identified as the offender. It is used to find out criminal histories and also find out about the participants background to see if links can be made between childhood crimes and drug use or between bad grades and crime. A strength of the self-report survey is that the person remains anonymous so the person is more likely to report drug abuse crimes and other crimes that have not been reported to the authorities. A weakness of the self-report survey is that people with criminal records are not willing to admit to their criminal activity because they do not want to go back to jail. A criminologist may be interested in looking at how to reduce juvenile probation rates. The criminologist could use the data from a self-report survey like the monitoring the future survey to look at crimes that have been committed by the youth and how those can relate to the attitudes of the survey takers to see if there is a link between youth crimes and probation rates and how to reduce those crimes. Rape is one of the most misunderstood and feared crimes. Identify and discuss the causal factors that explain why men commit rape. There are five factors that can explain why men commit rape. (1)Evolutionary, Biological factors, (2) Socialization factors (3) Mental factors (4) Learned behavior and (5) sexual attraction to their victims. Each of these have explanations as to why men commit rape as we will see. The evolutionary, biological factors go back to the days of the cave man. In this factor it is believed the reason a man rapes a women is because it is instinctual or inbreed within him from prehistoric times. Back then if a species was to survive it had to produce offspring and rape of a woman was a way to help ensure the male that his genes were spread and that he had a lot of offspring to keep the species alive. Sort of like the survival of the fittest only with a sexual twist. Males that were more aggressive towards women had a better chance of having offspring. The socialization factors leads to men that are taught by society that in some cases being aggressive and raping a woman is ok especially if they get turned down by a woman. Men who have grown up believing that no means yes are the ones that are the most likely to rape a woman. They have been taught by other males that it is ok to be rough with a woman in this case because it is really what she wants to happen. Other men just rape because it makes them feel like a big man or like they are the real man in their warped minds. Mental factors that may cause rape include mental illness. Many rapist are mentally ill and do not realize that they are. Some have a narcissistic personality disorder that causes them to rape because they want to satisfy their own needs and feel dominant over the woman. In the learned behavior factor it is believed that most rapists have been abused sexually themselves sometime in the past and have learned this behavior from those experiences or have learned the behavior from their friends or from watching porn. Some men rape because they feel a sexual attraction to their victims that they cannot control. Within the sexual motivation factor it is believed that older rapists are more violent with their victims than younger rapists are because the older rapists are motivated by other factors than sexual attraction. Men commit rape for various reasons from wanting to feel like they are in control and are powerful to just wanting to have sex. Others commit rape because they have no control over themselves such as in the case of someone with a mental illness. Others learn how to rape from the abuse they have suffered in the past. In any case rape is rape and it is wrong. Explain the three causal theories of white-collar crime and explain which one best explains the Madoff Affair and why? The three causal theories of white collar crime are the rationalization/neutralization view, the corporate culture view and the self-control view. Criminals often use these theories to help ease their conscience and help them live with themselves. Our textbook says that rationalizations allow offenders to meet their financial needs without compromising their values. A lot of criminals start committing crimes when they are very young but with the rationalization view an offender would need to be an adult and be in a position where they could take advantage of the business that they work for in order to commit a white collar crime. They find themselves in a situation where they need money and commit the crime in hopes that they do not get caught. By the offender being an adult most of the time they have people in their lives that they do not want to disappoint. By rationalizing the reasons they committed the crime such as needing money to pay bills, etc. it lets them be able to live with the crime that they have committed. In the neutralization view there are three top reasons people use to help them deal with the guilt of the crime they have committed, (1)everyone else does it, (2) its not my fault or responsibility, and (3) no one is hurt except the insurance companies, and they are wealthy. Like the rationalization view the neutralization view helps the criminals deal with the guilt of committing a crime. It is a way to mentally cope and continue to live with what they have done. A lot of people take the stance of its not my fault or responsibility people today want to have money and enjoy life but they do not want to work hard to succeeded they want everything handed to them. When this does not happen they turn to white collar crimes so that they can continue to live the life they are used to and resort to using these two views to help them mentally cope with what they have done. I can imagine that living with the knowledge that you have committed a crime especially if that crime is against someone else it has to be hard to deal with that fact every day if you have any kind of conscience at all. The corporate culture view compares businesses with culture. Businesses that promote white collar crime and look the other way when that crime happens is like a culture looking the other way on an act that is happening in a society that they do not agree with. Our textbook states that according to the corporate culture view, some business enterprises cause crime by placing excessive demands on employees, while maintaining a business climate tolerant of employee deviance. To me this is like a big corporation like Windstream that I use to work for. They would put unreasonable demands on the employees that lead to some of the employees committing crimes against the company, but then just look the other way when someone in management would do something that was equally wrong or sometimes even the same crime. Most businesses today want to make a profit no matter what the cost is. When these businesses instill in their employees that making this profit no matter how it is done is a good th ing this is when you end up with white collar crimes. The self-control view takes the stance that white collar crime does not happen as often as people think it does because businesses hire people that have a measure of self-control that keeps them from committing a white collar crime. Most white collar criminals want something for nothing. They want the financial reward without the effort of work to earn those rewards. This is the same with any crime such as burglary. The thief when he breaks into a house wants to profit from the theft without having to do a lot of work to earn the same amount of money. I feel like the rationalization/neutralization view would best explain the Madoff Affair because Bernard Madoff claimed that he merely wanted to satisfy his clients expectations of high returns and that their demands simply could not be met by legal means. In this statement he was rationalizing the reasons for committing the crimes that he did. He knew that the crimes he had committed over the years were wrong but he did not want to have to live with the guilt of those crimes so he came up with reasons for the crimes that in his mind were valid reasons of why he had to do what he did. Each of the three views of white collar crime has their own way of easing a criminals mind about what crime they have committed. Such as everybody does it or lets just look the other way because greed is good and finally a criminal that wants quick benefits with minimal effort. Criminals will continue to look for ways to ease their minds about why they commit the crimes that they do Source: Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminology, the core. (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co.

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member Essay -- Biography B

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member    "Where I came from, in order to be down you had to be 'in'" (Shakur, 226). This quote, taken from Sanyika Shakur's (aka Monster Kody Scott) Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member relates the mind set of those growing up the concrete jungle of South Central L.A. This powerful account of the triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds brings the reader into the daily battles for survival. His story starts at the beginning of his gang life (being initiated at age 11), moves through his teen years (mostly spent in various correctional facilities) and ends up with his transformation in a member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement.    When Kody Scott was 6 years old, the gang wars started in Los Angeles. It started out as a battle between the Crips and the Bloods, but by the late 70's and continuing today, the biggest killer of Crips is other Crips. The Crip Nation was divided into different divisions, which Monster compares to the U.S. Army. "For instance, one who is in the army may belong to the F... Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member Essay -- Biography B Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member    "Where I came from, in order to be down you had to be 'in'" (Shakur, 226). This quote, taken from Sanyika Shakur's (aka Monster Kody Scott) Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member relates the mind set of those growing up the concrete jungle of South Central L.A. This powerful account of the triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds brings the reader into the daily battles for survival. His story starts at the beginning of his gang life (being initiated at age 11), moves through his teen years (mostly spent in various correctional facilities) and ends up with his transformation in a member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement.    When Kody Scott was 6 years old, the gang wars started in Los Angeles. It started out as a battle between the Crips and the Bloods, but by the late 70's and continuing today, the biggest killer of Crips is other Crips. The Crip Nation was divided into different divisions, which Monster compares to the U.S. Army. "For instance, one who is in the army may belong to the F...

A Unique Cult Essays -- Consumerism Economics Economy Essays

A Unique Cult Within the past five years, the stock market has steadily increased due to an abundance of retail and merchandise shopping. Many may wonder, â€Å"why now?† or â€Å"why such an increase in sales?†; the answer to this question is right in front of our nose. The answer is the current consumer culture, consisting of everything we buy- including clothes, food, accessories, cars, and furniture. Pressure from the current consumer culture on the average shopper has never been so strong. Nowadays the only way for a person to feel as though they fit in is by purchasing the latest fashion fad, in order to, in some way, feel connected. Peer pressure and the pressure of advertising are placing the latest crazes in front of our eyes, and it is our job as consumers to purchase them, no matter the cost. The current consumer culture is taking the word â€Å"unique† out of the country by creating false images for teenagers and cities to fulfill. It is also pl acing unwanted pressure on parents and teenagers to cooperate with today’s consumer culture without realizing that the intent of large corporations is only for their own good. The words cult and consumer culture, also known as consumerism, have become prevalent topics in today’s society. The most general and personal definition of the term cult refers to a group of people in which everyone is the same, or has the same goals and dreams. For example, one may think of a cult as the Catholic Church in which every Catholic’s goal is to find salvation. In a less religious and significant stance, a cult is the extreme followers of a television show such as â€Å"Star Trek†. The term consumer culture, dealing with the need for people to purchase and have the latest... ...proving to be monetary gain for their own selfish needs rather than the people which keep them in business. Works Cited: Connor, John. "TV: 'TEENAGE SUICIDE: DON'T TRY IT!'" New York Times. 10 Dec. 1981, sec C. Lexis Nexis. 3 Dec. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Garcia, Michelle. "New York, Brought to You by . . .." Washington Post. 7 Dec. 2003, sec. A03. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Lasn, Kalle. "The Cult You're In." Culture Jam. New York: Perennial Currents, 2000. Mayer, Caroline. "Nurturing Brand Loyalty." Washington Post. 12 Dec. 2003, sec. F01. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Moraes, Lisa de. "High-Priced Ads: For Younger Viewers Only." Washington Post. 21 March 2004, sec. N10. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>.

Comparing Alexis Tocqueville and Karl Marx Essay -- Politics Political

Comparing Alexis Tocqueville and Karl Marx Writing in the 1830s Tocqueville saw democracy as the way of the future, and envisioned a world where revolutions would be rare. Yet writing not long after that, with a thorough knowledge of Tocqueville, Marx predicted a season of revolutions. The difference between these two views comes from a different take on the effect that the economy has on people. Both men saw the economy as producing an almost economically equal majority. For Tocqueville this majority was fairly well-off and had the ability to seek individual happiness through material wellbeing, without concern to control the government. This pursuit of individualism would keep the people quiet and peaceful. For Marx this majority was poor and had nothing to lose by revolting. Poverty would unify the people beyond borders and they would work for change. Marx acknowledged the growing individualism that Tocqueville had identified, but underestimated it and he ignored the possibility by which through democracy the wealthy could be isolated and ignored peaceably. According to Marx, "The weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the ground are now turned against the bourgeoisie itself. But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield these weapons ? the modern working class ? the proletarians." The proletariat is the group described in the Communist Manifesto as the 9/10th of the population which does not own "private property". The private property he is referring to are not items of individual consumption, like toothbrushes or clothing, but the means of production. The proletariat does not own the means of production but m... ...as to whether they will be able to survive the growth of major chains like Wal-Mart. With the fall of small businesses, more and more people will be forced to sell their labour-power to the large ones, and perhaps Marx was just a little before his time. Works Cited Marx, Karl. "Civil War in France." In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 301 - 314. "Communist Manifesto." In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 157 ? 186. "Marginal Notes on Baukunin?s Statism and Anarchy". In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 333 ? 338. Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Abridged by Sanford Kessler. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 2000. Comparing Alexis Tocqueville and Karl Marx Essay -- Politics Political Comparing Alexis Tocqueville and Karl Marx Writing in the 1830s Tocqueville saw democracy as the way of the future, and envisioned a world where revolutions would be rare. Yet writing not long after that, with a thorough knowledge of Tocqueville, Marx predicted a season of revolutions. The difference between these two views comes from a different take on the effect that the economy has on people. Both men saw the economy as producing an almost economically equal majority. For Tocqueville this majority was fairly well-off and had the ability to seek individual happiness through material wellbeing, without concern to control the government. This pursuit of individualism would keep the people quiet and peaceful. For Marx this majority was poor and had nothing to lose by revolting. Poverty would unify the people beyond borders and they would work for change. Marx acknowledged the growing individualism that Tocqueville had identified, but underestimated it and he ignored the possibility by which through democracy the wealthy could be isolated and ignored peaceably. According to Marx, "The weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the ground are now turned against the bourgeoisie itself. But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield these weapons ? the modern working class ? the proletarians." The proletariat is the group described in the Communist Manifesto as the 9/10th of the population which does not own "private property". The private property he is referring to are not items of individual consumption, like toothbrushes or clothing, but the means of production. The proletariat does not own the means of production but m... ...as to whether they will be able to survive the growth of major chains like Wal-Mart. With the fall of small businesses, more and more people will be forced to sell their labour-power to the large ones, and perhaps Marx was just a little before his time. Works Cited Marx, Karl. "Civil War in France." In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 301 - 314. "Communist Manifesto." In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 157 ? 186. "Marginal Notes on Baukunin?s Statism and Anarchy". In Karl Marx: Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1994. 333 ? 338. Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Abridged by Sanford Kessler. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 2000.

Legalising Prostitution: Debate, communication model and evaluation

Section 1: Group Discussion This section contains what was discussed during group discussion session. The general area of prejudice chosen for discussion was prostitution. Dubbed the oldest profession, there was unanimous observation among group members that prostitution is still loathed in the society, and commercial sex workers, mostly women, are still treated with contempt within our society. The common notion about prostitution is that whilst men are often ‘buyers’ of sex service from prostituting women, the latter are victims of exploitation. The term exploitation is used because women who engage in prostitution are seen to be compelled to engage in commercial sexual activities against their will. Whilst the common fact is that women who engage in prostitution see it as a source of income, and participate in it with their full consent without coercion, we observed that it is quite difficult to convince a person whose belief is entrenched in the moral dimension of commercial sex work that it is a normal activity. The prejudice against women is also entrenched by the belief that women who engage in this trade are of lesser social standing, even though this is always not the case. The other common belief is that while women prostitutes are looked down upon, men do not suffer any form of prejudice. In other words, men are often seen as the exploiters of sex workers, and hence do not enjoy any fair share of prejudice. On the other hand, both men and women engaging in prostitution are seen as morally repugnant, hence the common prejudice that come with it. The debate to legalise prostitution or not has been in the public domain for quite some time now. But it is the increased attention that it has received in the recent past that has invoked a lot of passionate debate in many legal jurisdictions as regards whether to legalise it or not. We may be all aware that one of the reasons why same-sex marriage has gained much currency today is because it is no longer viewed as socially unacceptable to the extent that it is not legal to hold gay couples in contempt in many countries. In recent past, it was not difficult to meet some strong views against marijuana user; with some even believing that the latter were losers who should be kept at the periphery of the society. However, criticism over marijuana use has waned in the recent past because of the recent revelation that it could be used to treat cancer. In addition, marijuana has also been used for pain relief for some time. This recent development has meant opposition to campaigns to keep marijuana illegal is at an all-time low. However, the same cannot be said about prostitution. The stigma associated with the sex trade remains strong, with women and men engaging in it seen as socially ambiguous individuals without moral standing in society. This kind of idea can promote dangerous conducts towards prostitutes. The fact that prostitutes are not regarded highly puts them at more risks to abuse including rape and murder. In addition, prostitutes are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases, further endangering their lives. Decriminalising prostitution will not only protect women but will also improve their safety and their rights, because however much it is made illegal, the oldest profession is not likely to go away anytime. Section 2: Commentary and Rationale This section will cover commentary on the topic and discuss it based on the chosen model of communication, the heuristic-systematic model. The debate on whether to legalise prostitution or not has intensified in the recent past, with voices advocating for the latter increasing in number every day. It’s no doubt that the stigma associated with prostitution is real, and remains strong amidst the growing knowledge that it will not stop any time soon. This is despite the rising evidence that decriminalising the trade has some significant health benefits. Research by two economists, Scott Cunningham and Manisha Shah (cited in Albarracin, et al., 2005, p. 78), looked at the situation in Rhodes Island when prostitution was accidentally decriminalised and found that cases of gonorrhoea had drastically reduced, as rape incidences. . Shannon et al. (2004, cited in Griffin, 2006, p.139) also confirmed this result when they conducted a study in Vancouver, British Colombia, and found out t hat decriminalising of prostitution can significantly reduce HIV prevalence by minimising its spread. Despite all the evidence showing the benefits of legalising prostitution, the benefits have not attracted the attention of the legislators. . In addition, many have argued that idea of legalising prostitution is unattractive to voters and therefore to politicians. There is need to focus on presenting arguments that provide options to the intended audience on the need to legalise abortion, and that is where the model for persuasive communication will be necessary in the subsequent section of this paper. The Heuristic-Systematic Model of Social Information Processing The concept of persuasion is an important aspect to not only convincing the people to accept an idea but also to drive changes of mind towards the accomplishment of the idea. The Heuristic-Systematic Model (Chaiken & Trope, 1999) recognises that people either use heuristics and short-cuts to decide on important issues, or use a systematic mechanism that processes the merits and demerits of an argument. The Heuristic approach suggests that the decision-maker asks questions such as of ‘how do I feel about this issue?’ despite the recognition that such questions can cause problems of understanding and choice, particularly when the person facing the decision dilemma mixes up the cause and the effect of their emotions. In other words, the Heuristic-Systematic Model recognises that in any argument there are a number of variables that are conceptually independent of the message quality and which are likely to influ ence people to act or agree with the proposed idea. Dillard & Pfau (2002) state that that these variables are able to qualitatively differentiate information processing, and give people more room to negotiate with their thinking process. It is important to recognise that people rarely process information in perfect conditions, because there are often environmental and cognitive constraints that tend to either limit the broadness of reasoning or curtail information processing. In this line of thought, people tend to process information economically; investing only in cognitive efforts when they feel motivated enough with a number of cognitive resources. In the prostitution decriminalisation debate, this can be said to affect that the way people reason, that is, arguments are likely to be based on strong environmental and cognitive influences entrenched by history, personal interest or fear, religious and cultural convictions. For instance, some arguments have emerged that prostitution should remain illegal because legalising it will mean women of loose morals will increasingly tempt men of good morals to increasingly betray their families. This kind of argument tends to make out that women who engage in prostitution a re the villains. The other belief is that women who engage in prostitution should be protected from being hurt against: sexually transmitted diseases, unruly pimps, and exploitation. The other argument would only be based on religion and historical cultural practices that prohibits prostitution as a trade. The three lines of arguments are motivated by different lines of thought, which can fall in either heuristic or systematic message processing mechanism. Ironically, the arguments against prostitution which include the view that women of loose morals prey upon upstanding men of good morals and lead them to betray their families has been accepted in some countries such as Sweden, which in 1999, criminalised the buying of sex but allowed individuals to continue selling it (Dillard & Pfau, 2002). Many proponents of this legislation argued that violence against prostituting in women is inherent, and that the best way was to reduce prostitution prevalence by limiting activities of the potential buyers. On the other hand, the State of Nevada, United States legalised prostitution to protect women from exploitation and abuse (Taleb, 2012). The Heuristic- Systematic model posits that people generally process persuasive information systematically only when they are fully motivated. When one is in a systematic mode, they tend to take into consideration all relevant pieces of information, elaborately analyse the information, and make a judgment based on the elaborated issues. However, whenever people are not adequately motivated or do not possess sufficient cognitive resources, they often resort to processing of information heuristically or superficially. People in a heuristic mode of thinking consider only a few or a single informational cue and come up a judgment based on the cues. Whilst decriminalising or legalising prostitution has attracted massive debate, its inability to pass the legislative hurdle or even attract attention of the political class has been overbearing for its proponents. In other words, legalising of sex trade has not been high amongst the priorities of many legislative agendas for many countries, i ncluding United Kingdom and United States (Taleb, 2012). The reason why the Heuristic- Systematic model can work towards pushing for the legalisation of prostitution is because of its dualism nature, which allows the message to reach different classes of people. The goal here is to get support for legislation that would see prostitution decriminalised, and protect the parties involved. . Expert advice backed by research findings are powerful tool to convince legislators, who may not take their time to scrutinise the quality of persuasive arguments, and mostly prefer quick fixes in making decisions. Packaging a message heuristically can allow the legislators to pick the cue, and avoid the difficult process of differentiating a strong and a weak message (Griffin, 2006). Reimer, et al (2004, p.81) observe that â€Å"people who expect to discuss a persuasion message later are more affected by the number of persuasive arguments but are never affected by the attractiveness of the communicator.† It is presumed that the importance of the message easily induce systematic processing of the message. By contrast, people who do not expect to discuss the message are often affected by how attractive the communicator is, and not affected by the number of persuasive arguments (Reimer, et al, 2004). Studies have proven that motivational variables affect the mode in which people process persuasive arguments. These variables include personal relevance of the message, importance of the task, attitude accountability and exposure to a person’s attitude (Chaiken & Trope, 1999). On the other hand, there are cognitive resource variables that affect the mode of message processing, which includes distraction, repetition of the message, creating time pressure, a nd modality of communication, knowledge and expertise (Griffin, 2006). Although it is important to recognise these modes of communicating the message in terms of communicating the value of legalising prostitution, it should not appear as though there is any form of dissociation of the variables at the early stage of the group means (Griffin, 2006). Similarly, heuristically communicating the message should be able to have direct effects on the attitudes of the target group. In this aspect, when the people agree in a consensus that prostitution should be legalised, then it can be considered correct and valid for acceptance. An important factor which should be covered by any dual-process model is how the two processes interact or work together. Although one may argue that the two processes, heuristic and systematic are mutually exclusive or are competing concepts, in this case of legalising prostitution they should work together. The Heuristic-Systematic model posits that the two proc esses, heuristic and systematic, are indeed working simultaneously. Evidence of how these two processes can work is when arguments pitting two judgmental implications of both of them. For instance, an expert source delivering a message consisting of weak arguments can present a scenario where both systematic and heuristic processing of messages is done under different levels of motivation. It is also important to note that the heuristic-systematic model attenuates that wherever the two processes opposes each other, the implications the comes from systematic processing can â€Å"easily attenuate the impact of heuristic given that people are sufficiently motivated.† For example, Griffin, (2006).found out those highly motivated participants who were presented with consensus cue information that is inconsistent with the attributes singularly based their judgments on their own cognitive prowess in relation to the product attributes. This concept is applicable in the case of prosti tution legalisation debate, in the sense that legislators can use their own cues and decide on the legislative agendas that will legalise commercial sex work. Section 3: Evaluation Proposal Evaluating heuristic- systematic model effectiveness is an important part of this model’s success towards ensuring the message to legalise prostitution is effectively passed. Effective communications needs evaluation, which helps to identify the impact of the efforts made in passing the message to the target audience. To effectively monitor the communication model, various tools shall be used in the process. Public opinion evaluation: Getting the opinions of the public as far as legalising prostitution is concerned is an important point to start from. Public opinion monitoring tool will be used to ask the public if they heard about the campaign to legalise prostitution from opinion leaders including legislators and non-governmental organisations. In addition, the questions will be directed to ask the public whether they agree with the manner in which legislators in support of the prostitution presented their messages or agreed with them in the context and reasons given by the leaders. For example, questions such as: Whose arguments made sense in the call to legalise prostitutionAnd whyThe questionnaire trackers will be recorded in terms of age, gender, work status, tenacity. The methodology to be used will remain consistent over time to allow for the tracking of metrics over time for comparison purposes. Evaluating media Evaluating the media response on how effective the proposed model will work, the formal process for evaluating the impact of the campaign in the media is to analyse whether it can be replicated and made part of regular campaign mechanism. Media Coverage Before Campaign (airtime/space) Coverage After Campaign (airtime/ space) % Increase in Coverage BBC National News BBC London ITV National News London Tonight Evening Standard Metro Radio 4 Times The table above will provide a guideline on how the media coverage has increased/ or decreased due to the campaign. This will be able to help bring depth to the understanding of our campaign, and if the media (both mainstream and tabloids) respond to increased debate. By monitoring how the media has changed the amount of airtime/ or newspaper coverage space in covering the legislative debates, it is possible to analyse the outcome of the campaign in ensuring the legislators continually discuss the possibility of decriminalising or legalising prostitution. The media monitoring will be conducted by assistants on everyday basis, and compiled in a weekly report for tracking if there is any change in trends. Each article or piece of broadcast coverage will be allocated points based on the following criteria: Positivity/negativity of the message (in favour of legalising prostitution): analysing the articles, opinions, newspaper columns and news coverage. Positivity/ negativity of the headl ines: positive mentions of the campaign groups, legislators; and Neutrality of opinions reported Finally, a range of stories will be typically evaluated and compiled on a daily basis, and tabulated on a weekly basis. Classification of stories will ensure the campaign program can be understood in the manner in which the media responds to the legislative debates, which is likely to translate into public debate as well. References Albarracin, D., Johnson, B. T., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). The handbook of attitudes. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology. New York: Guilford Press. Dillard, J.P. & Pfau, M. (2002). The persuasion Handbook: Developments in Theory and Practice. NY: Sage Publications. Griffin, E. A. (2006). A first look at communication theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA; McGraw Hill. Reimer, T., Mata, R & Stoecklin, M. (2004). The use of Heuristics in Persuasion: Deriving Cues on Source Expertise from Argument Quality. In Current Research in Social Psychology, 10(6), 69-83. Taleb, N. (2012). Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. New York: Random House.