altered states of consciousness Essays - Philosophy Of Mind

The function and process of perception can vary depending on a particular state of consciousness. Normal waking consciousness is a mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and reasonably alert (Morris whether naturally or self-induced. While sensory data is inevitable, the brain's interpretation and perception of such stimuli during an altered state of consciousness will differ from that of waking consciousness. This mini-paper will elaborate on the effects of perception, including its process and function, related to three altered states of consciousness. The first being sleep and dreams, next drug-altered consciousness, followed by hypnosis. Before discussing the effects of perception while in an altered state, an overview of the basic function and process of perception in a normal setting is needed. Sensation is the body's initial encounter with a sensory experience. This begins when the sensory receptors receive energy from a particular stimulus, which trigger receptor cells. The physical energy is converted into electrochemicals, then passes along sensory nerves, to the central nervous system where the brain receives the energy as a detailed message. However, not all physical energy produces a sensation. A minimum intensity, termed absolute threshold, must be achieved in order to produce a sensation. Perception takes place when the message reaches the brain and is then deciphered. Here, the sensory information is organized and interpreted to be made sense of. Using sensory information as raw material, the brain creates perceptual experiences that go beyond what is sensed directly (Morris & Maisto, 2010, p. 106). Again , this is the series of events in the normal waking state of consciousness. During an altered state of consciousness the effect, process, and/or function of perception may vary. Sleep is the body's natural way of recharging itself mentally and physically. Research has shown that adequate sleep contributes to cognitive functioning such as enhanced creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, and also crucial to the formation of long-term memories (Morris However, REM is a deep sleep, it is difficult to wake the person, and is when most dreaming takes place. Dreams, in a way, could be considered perception. The brain subconsciously interprets information without the need of sensory stimulation. Psychologists define dreams as visual and auditory experiences that our minds create during sleep (Morris & Maisto, 2010, p. 131). This is an example of a natural occurrence of altering consciousness. Drug-altered consciousness on the other hand, is self-induced. Psychoactive drugs are substances that change people's moods, perceptions, mental functioning, or behavior (Morris & Maisto, 2010, p. 134). Drugs are taken to purposely alter one's state of consciousness. To analyze the effect drugs have on the nervous system, three categories of drugs will be mentioned: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens. Depressants slow behavior, thinking, and perception by increasing or decreasing nerve impulses. Stimulants, such as amphetamines, produce feelings of optimism as well as never-ending energy by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system. These drugs cause the release of norepinephrine from adrenergic nerve endings (Weil, n.d.). Lastly, hallucinogens distort the user's senses and induce perceptual changes by causing experiences that resemble hallucinations. A positive for psychoactive drugs is the ability to explore different parts of the brain while in this altered state of consciousness. Although, the negative consequences of abuse and add iction are high risk. The last section is a technique that has been used for centuries for positivity, without the risk. Hypnosis is a trancelike state in which a person responds readily to suggestions (Morris & Maisto, 2010, p. 150). This is an altered state of consciousness that works like sleep. The subconscious person receives a suggestion, which acts as a stimulus, and is sent to and interpreted by the brain. Hypnosis can help ease pain as well as cure an addiction. In conclusion, perceptual experiences vary in different forms of consciousness. Whether it be the sensory organs or the brain itself, interpretation of the coded message is somehow changed.

THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE Book Report

THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE Book Report/Review THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL STATE – Book Report/Review Example THE ANTITRUST MOVEMENT AMIDST A FRAGMENTED FEDERAL November 5, The Antitrust Movement amidst a Fragmented Federal Ch. 6 The economic development of a nation highly depends on the business activities within the nation and transactions with other countries or in other words international trade. The article grants me the opportunity to understand the world of business during the early nineteenth century. The article begins by giving me a brief description of how business or rather service providers operated before the issue of merging came into place. Further importance of the article is seen by the critical analysis of the structural defects on the strategies employed by the state to control the business enterprise. I gain vast knowledge by reading through the two main legal traditions employed by the state in the regulation process. The most efficient technique among the two is the right for the state to charter corporations. It ensured that the activities of the enterprise could be c ontrolled.The article in the reading that caught my attention was the information on great merger movement. The author ensures that all the relevant information is well tackled. The origin of the mergers with examples of the companies that were among the first business organization to practice this structure is given. The article gives me an opportunity to understand the step undertaken by the President Roosevelt to protect the people against cases of a monopolistic market. Several analysts and their publications such Kolko are analyzed in the article (The Antitrust Movement amidst a Fragmented Federal State 161). Different questions about techniques used by the authorities to control the situation are analyzed. An important aspect tackled is the answer to the loose end found in the federal policy employed to curb the situation. The formed enterprises prevented competition by ensuring that they controlled the main inputs for production of a certain product thus can easily control en try to that line of business.An important concept in the reading that I can relate to the economics is the aspect of monopoly. It was horrific for the people in America to witness the merger as it would create monopolistic type of market structure. The prices of goods and services are no longer be determined by competition but the producers. It means that the prices can be raised with little influence from the external environment.

Systems Management and Security of Standard Chartered Bank Essay

Systems Management and Security of Standard Chartered Bank - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Standard Chartered ranks among the top 20 companies in the FTSE-100 by market capitalization. It was formed in 1969 when two banks merged i.e. The Standard Bank of British South Africa which was founded in 1863, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, founded in 1853. Standard Chartered Bank always strives to Lead by example and be the right partner for its stakeholders. One of the objectives of the Standard Chartered Group is its commitment to building a sustainable business over the long term that is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. IT, Security and the Banking system The increasing demand of account holders and the business industry has led to a change in the banking sector. Like many other industries, the banking sector is also affected by the impacts of information technological and technological advancements. Standard chartered uses a number of technologically advanced equipments to quicken the procedures involved in the banking work. It makes use of computers, internet, modern software for accounting and transactional processing and so on. In the recent year, online banking has also been established and promoted by the banking sectors. Standard Chartered Plc also proposed a trade platform for the users of its services called B2Bex. This platform is used by both sellers and buyers to perform the basic transactions online without any delays or necessary paperwork. This platform helps in maintaining the whole trade procedures by giving the opportunity to the buyers to locate a supplier and choose products, negotiate insurance and transfer finances. The software to combat hackers and misuse of customer information have also been incorporated in the IT infrastructure of most the banks. This helps in maintaining substantial level of security of information of the users. Standard Chartered wa s the first bank to introduce ATM during 1979 in Hong Kong. The IT Security Measures Here are some of the security features that standard Chartered has implemented: 1. Strong Cryptography is extremely essential as it is the process through which data is converted into scrambled code and sent across a public or private network and deciphered or unscrambled at the other end. There are two types of cryptography: Symmetric cryptography. Asymmetrical cryptography. Under Symmetric cryptography the same key is used for encryption and decryption. This method is vulnerable to plain text attacks and linear cryptanalysis meaning that they are hackable and at times simple to decode. Asymmetrical cryptography utilizes two different keys for the encryption and decryption of data. It is considered to be more reliable and secure. Hence keeping in line with the latest updates in cryptography, Standard Chartered Bank Online Banking is currently employing SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128-bit encryption (High); R SA with 1024-bit and Triple-DES encryption to ensure data (password) protection and data integrity protection. This form of cryptography used is among the strongest that is available in the industry.

Health Care System of the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Care System of the USA - Essay Example The healthcare system is a blend of public and private funding. Unlike US, in the UK, all residents are entitled to cover under UK National Health Service (NHS). Though the parameters of the NHS are not clearly defined, the National Health Service Act 1977 places a general responsibility on the Secretary of State to provide services "to such extent, as he considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements". However, the U.S. health system has some major public funded elements. Apart from having public hospitals in older cities, a policy called Medicare gives taxation-financed coverage for the elderly and disabled, mostly to people over the age of 65 years. Privately owned hospitals or physicians in private practice generally provide another utility called Medicaid. Being a federal and state initiative, the program provides coverage to people with low-income and disabled persons. In order to be eligible for Medicare, individuals or their spouses should have worked for at least 10 years in institutions which are covered by Medicare and are at least 65 years old and are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America. People under the per-requisite age can also be covered provided they are disabled or have end stage renal disease. In such cases, the people concerned should be receiving handicap benefits from either Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board for at least 24 months before automatic enrolment occurs. USA also has another important public initiative called The Department of Veterans Affairs. This caters to providing exclusive health care to military personals. This includes medical coverage to injured U.S. military veterans and also to contemporary servicemen and women. Interestingly, the policy does not cover the health sectors of those veterans who are non-injured. The policy operates through a nation-wide network of government hospitals. Then there is something called the Home health care services. These are usually confined to nursing enterprises, and work on the advice of physicians. In the private sector, medical care is provided by personal physicians (doctors who specialise subjects such as internal medicine, family medicine, and paediatrics medicine), physicians who are specialists (such as neurologists, gastroenterologists, urologists, cardiologists, or paediatric endocrinologists) or non-physicians (people practising nursing and those who train for physician assistants like radiologists). Hospitals in the private sector include ones run by private corporations. On the other hand, county governments, state governments, religious orders, or independent non-profit organisations generally run the social or the non-profit hospitals. Apart from this, there are also hospitals that provide outpatient care in their emergency rooms and speciality clinics (like Surgicenters). However, these hospitals primarily provide inpatient care. The government also subsidises rates for terminally ill patients. The prenatal clinics, family planning counselling, and dysplasia clinics are government-funded and are usually staffed by nurse practitioners. On a comparative ground, the US has the most expensive health care system in the world. The

Alienation Essay Example for Free

Alienation Essay Metamorphosis is a change in physical form or structure. In The Metamorphosis, there is a literal change in the protagonist, Gregor Samsas, physical form from a man to an insect. This metamorphosis brings to light one of the major themes in the novel; the theme of alienation. Todays society demands conformity to its norms and any individual who refuses to accept these faces alienation. Such is the fate of Gregor in the story. Before Gregors metamorphosis, he is alienated from his job, humanity, his family, and even his body. The metamorphosis, however, takes the alienation to a different plane. In the story, Gregors job precipitates his alienation from society, his family, and himself. Gregors initial alienation is from his physical body and as the story progresses we find that Gregors life as an insect is not much different from his life as a human. From the first few paragraphs we get the impression that Gregors metamorphosis has only transformed him from one body to a less convenient one. He does not seem frazzled by his transformation, but explores his new body and tries to work with it. He observes his numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk (Kafka, 494), he feels a dull ache he had never experienced before (495), and he discovers a place on his body that he cannot itch. Gregor does not seem to have any emotional change due to this transformation. This is evident when he wakes up after his transformation and is annoyed that he cannot go to sleep because he cannot turn onto his right side. He also thinks about how he can no longer attend work.

Slavery In USA And Serfdom In Russia

Slavery In USA And Serfdom In Russia Slavery, condition in which one human being is owned by another  [1]  , has been part of countless civilizations since the dawn of Mankind. From the fields and mines of Ancient Mesopotamia, through great Rome and sophistic Greece, and all the way until just but a century ago in America and Russia, slavery was a basic foundation of the society. In its beginning, and several times since, slaves were kept almost as family members, but mostly they were put to do the hard, physical work. Slavery was always weld together with the economy of the owners, be it civilians or the monarch crown. Even today some slavery still exists. We might hear and read about evil criminality referred to as human trafficking, forced prostitution, child soldiers, forced and bonded labour and the use of children in international drug trade, children labour  [2]  . Also Conservative estimates indicate that at least 27million people, in places as diverse as Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil, live in conditions of forced bondage  [3]  . International organizations like the UN, with its Anti-Slavery Commission, still fight to abolish these modern remains of slavery. In our everyday life language we tend to say that we are slaves of our work, our money or some other materialistic need. Fortunately slavery in its ancient and medieval context has been abolished in practically the whole world. Serfdom, condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord  [4]  , differs principally from slavery in the fact that serfs obtained their subsistence by cultivating a plot of land that was owned by a lord. The reason for then comparing serfdom in the Russian Empire with slavery in the USA lies in the fact that in 18th- and first half of 19th century Russia the nobility, the Dvoryanstvo, possessed the power to practically do everything they wanted with their serfs. This power was identical to the slave owners in the Southern States of America, also in the 18th- and 19th century. This essay aims at showing how fundamentally different the American and Russian society was, and, ironically, how both contained unfree human beings in miserable conditions. The difficult conditions will be looked at too, and the interesting difference that can be found when comparing the fall of slavery and serfdom will be given so me attention. The research question is then; What were the simmilarities and differences between slavery in the USA and serfdom in the Russian Empire? The topic is worthy of investigation since the effects of slavery and serfdom still affect people living in the USA and Russia today. The United States of America The New World On October 12, 1492, when Columbus (1451-1506) reached land in the West Indies for the first time and met the indigenous people there, he made especially many notations in his log book. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)they [native people] indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador [Columbus named the island so] to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves  [5]  . Columbus log indicates that the Native American civilizations already consisted of some sort of slavery, unless Columbus own wish to make slaves of them made him misunderstand what they were trying to tell him. Columbus thinking like this is not unreasonable, considering what we can read further in the log: They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them and, perhaps most surprisingly I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased. This was day o ne, not counting the days it took to sail to this new land, and already some sort of prediction about the future of the new continent could be drawn, like in a novel consisting of foreshadowing. This was the beginning of the colonization of the West Indies, and later, the whole Northern- and Southern American continent. Portugal, Britain and France soon joined the scene, and successfully conquered and established themselves in the New World. Because of the cruel enslavement and barbaric behavior of the Spanish conquistadors, but mainly due to the unexpected European diseases like smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria and measles, thereby killing millions upon millions of people  [6]  of the Indians. The tragic result of these biological genocides was the need for more workers, workers that would be found in Africa, and from there be brought to America. The Transatlantic Slave Trade The Bible says that the root of all evil is the love [lust] for money  [7]  . This was the case with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, a fundamental part of the Triangle Trade. This trade moved slaves from Central and Western Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies [current Caribbean Islands], Brazil and North-America. It is estimated that about 9.4-12million Africans arrived in the New World from Africa. These were from Ghana and Nigeria, Congol and Angola. They were sold by West African kings and leaders, who often were put on the throne by the European traders themselves: The principal European traders took active part in installing kings who they judged would favour their activities irrespective of whether such kings were acceptable to their subjects  [8]  . Kings sent military expeditions against nearby tribes, captured their people and sold them to the Portuguese. The Portuguese acted out of personal, but also Spanish, need for slaves  [9]  . 10 A group of Africans captured by African slave market suppliers. After being captured, most Africans were separated from their families, men, women and children alike. They were then forced to walk hundreds of kilometres in order to reach the Slave Coast in West Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. After arrival there, they were stowed together on ships like animals, with almost no place to even turn around, travelling for weeks among the filth of vomit-filled tubs, blood, urin, children crying, women shrieking and the dying groaning in despair. They could feel the stench of death spreading throughout the whole ship. These were the horrors of the Midlle Passage. 11 At any attempt of mutiny or resurrection terrible reprisals were carried out, like on the American ship Kentucky in 1844 where 46 men and one woman were hanged, tortured and mutilated and shot in the breast and the bodies thrown overboardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦sometimes they shot at the body while it still hung living, and all kinds of sport was made of the business  [12]  . One can imagine that the poor survivors of these atrocities asked themselves if the situation could get worse. Nations like Holland, Britain, France and Spain followed up the Portuguese in the triangular trade. When arriving in America the slaves, who were in much smaler numbers than at departure, were sold profitably in auctions and the money was used to by sugar , tobacco and cotton. These raw materials were transported back to the individual countries of Europe and manufactured there. Sugar became rum, cotton textiles, and the tobacco used. To maintain this buisness slave transport ships were sent to West Africa again with products from Europe that were desirable for the merchants and leaders that were settled there. The 13 colonies and slavery Britain, one of the greatest colonising nations, had several colonies all around America from British Honduras [Honduras] in the south to Newfoundland in the north. 13 of these colonies had settled together like neighbours on the North-American continent. These colonies did not differ from others in the matter of slavery. Also here a master could enjoy absolute rights over his property  [13]  . Two of the earliest established colonies, Virginia (1607) and Maryland (1632), were especially determined to repress the blacks, both free and slave. This was mainly due to fear of slave insurrectons, like e.g at St. Domingo [Haiti]. Laws and codes were created, restricting assemblies of black slaves, forbidding escape and travel without pass (Virginia,1705). Any kind of violence against the white owner(s) (or any other white person for that sake) allowed the owner to correct such a slave very physically, and also, if the slave died during this correction, no punishment towards the owner e xisted. It was ()as if such accident never happened.  [14]  (Virginia,1705). Anti miscegenation laws were established (Maryland, 1664), not allowing sexual relations or marriage between people of different races [Declared unconstitutional in 1967]. The penalty for such inter-racial marriages was that the white women who had succumbed to this terrible act, would lawfully become a slave herself, and so any children that she might give birth to. To bear firearm (unless allowed by the owner for protection against the Indians) and witness in court proceedings against any but other blacks was illegal too (Virginia,1639 and Virginia,1705), as well as any excercisement in any ecclesiastic [church], civil or military office (Virginia,1705). Convertion to Christianity through baptism did not change civil rights either (Virginia,1667). Noteably, greatest influence was played by the above partly mentioned Slave Codes of 1705. These subsequently came to serve as models for the other colonies. It was because of these Slave Codes that slaves would be considered by the law as real estate, property, a thing. Due to lack of co-operation and stubborness from the British Parliament and King in former taxual matters concerning the 13 colonies, militia of the New England colony surrounded the city of Boston on April 18th 1775. The attack was a result of a confiscation and arrestation attempt in Concord  [15]  . Armed clashes between the British troops and the colonies began the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Second Continental Congress met the same year. This Congress formed the Continental Army and fought the British Army. What is highly relevant to my research question is what the Second Continental Congress did but a year after its gathering. They wrote and signed the most important act in American history, on July 4th 1776. It was the United States Declaration of Independence. Second Continental Congress  [16]   In the second sentence of this document we find the famous words:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. One could assume that this clear separation from Imperial England and forming of a new nation based upon such beautiful words and honorable ideals must have contributed directly towards abolishment of slavery in the United States of America. The great paradox is that it didnt. Yes, the Revolutional ideas helped the Quakers together with Tomas Jefferson and Luther Martin in their pro-abolishment fight, resulting in illegalisation of slave trade in New York and Pennsylvania, but not much more. South Carolina temporarily illegalized the trade, while Massachusetts were hypocritical in their law by only prohibiting slave trade directly from Africa. Eli Whitneys cotton gin invention strenghtened the economic foundation of slavery in the Southern states and restored the African slave trade in North-America. Apparantly the former made changes affects did not last long. Officially only South Carolina had restored the slave trade, but the rest of the States smuggled in slaves and used them as well. The Bill of Rights (1789), the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution from 1787, guaranteed the white people in the United States that The Congress shal make no Law respecting the Establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free Exercise thereof; or abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the Press, or to the Right of the People peaceably assemble  [17]  . Through this they layed down a democratic foundation and example for the whole modern world. The United States should have been quite perfect, only that the great paradoxal and moral problem of slavery due to racism persisted. The Russian Empire Part of the culture Russia as a nation has gone through many changes throughout its history. The Kievan Rus state, which started in the 880s, contained the predecessors of several Slav people and is the oldest Russia we know of. Prince Vladimir (978-1015), a successor of the Kievan Rus crown, converted to Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy. It was through this conversion and acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxic religion that the Byzantine culture, statecraft and art came to Kievan Rus. These three were mixed with the Slavs culture and thereby created traditions which influenced the rise of the Russian autocratic state  [18]  . Russias autocratic system in the 19th century was therefore quite old. The medieval state of Kievan Rus disintergrated in the end though, starting to divide into principalities in the 12th century because of domestic conflicts. The Mongol-Tartar invasion, starting with an attack in 1223, did not improve the situation. The Mongol-Tartars destroyed Kiev along with many other cities at the time, so that many of the Slav people, mainly peasants, became homeless and had no choice but to move and settle on the land of wealthy Russian princes and nobles. A starting serfdom was therefore partially one of the consequences of the Mongol-Tartar invasion. The peasants-serfs, became attached and dependent upon the mercy of higher ranked Russians. As the Mongol-Tartars power diminished, especially with the defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), the grand princes of Muscovy [Moscow], had created a strong and wealthy Grand Duchy. Ivan III (ruled 1462-1505), one of the most successful grand princes there, was the first Muscovite ruler to use the titles of tsar and Ruler of all Rus. He had the right to claim it, Muscovy trippled in size under his rule. In order to keep strict order and reject any smaller princes who claimed to rule specific territories, Ivan the III forced all lesser princes, the nobility, to acknowledge him the sole and unquestionable ruler of Muscovy. This would also count for his heirs. Ivan IV  [19]   The formation of the very powerful and autocratic tsardom came to exist. With Ivan IV, grandson of the III, the word autocratic was no longer only a property of an independent ruler, it came to mean unlimited rule. Between 1565 and 1572, under Tsar Ivan the IV [the Terrible], none in Muscovys prosperous and important district was safe. The Tsar, for uncertain reasons, started killing advisers, government officials and the aristocrats (boyars/nobles) The peasants started moving away in fear their problems with unpayed taxes. In order to prevent them from moving, the Tsar started binding them to the land, bringing the russian peasantry closer and closer to legal serfdom. Boris Godunov  [20]   The consequence of such a fools rule was constant chaos from 1598 to 1613. Despite the frequent change of tsars, tsardom itself survived and was consolidated as peasantry went through a gradual enserfment. Boris Godunov (1551-1605), brother-in-law of Ivan IVs mentally ill heir to the throne, practically became the Tsar of Russia from 1584-1605. In 1597 a decree made by him to attach peaseants to the land on which they lived and worked with was set out. Peasants could no longer move from one landlord to another as they wanted. This was done in order to keep rural stability in Russia. Godunov formed serfdon in its most oppressive form, while at the same time the rest of Europe was getting rid of domestic serfdom. The Legal Code of 1649, which further legalised the attachment of serfs to the land, came about because the state prepared the serfs with land as presents of compensation for the new nobilities, the Dvoryanstvo, but also presents for acts of loyality and military service  [21]  The main factor in this development was the governments central bureaucracy, which had expanded significantly by the 1650s. There were many peasants who tried to run away, becoming fugitives. Anyhow, thousands upon thousands of Russians became enserfed and controlled by other Russians. It was in racial aspects different than the situation of the African slaves in the US. But, like slaves in America, the now legimite serfs also started making riots, some more serious than others. The tsar and the government managed to keep their power though, through the nobility, the Russian Orthodox Church and autocracy. Backwardness Peter the Great (1672-1725) indirectly separated the Russian serfs culturally from the Dvoryanstwo through his westernisation of Russia. He forced the nobility to wear Western dresses, tastes and social customs, splitting the Dvoryanstvo with serfdom even more. In 18th century Russia metallurgical and textile industries used serf labour, and practically all of agriculture used serfs. It was possible to maintain the country with this system of serfs, but from then on Imperial Russia would be backwarded compared to Western Europe with its Industrial Revolution. Russian serfs Russias westernisation was based upon the governing elites of Western Europe like e.g in France, but in 1789 with the French Revolution at hand, the Russian Tsar would not and could not keep contact with countries like France. When Tsar Nikolas I came to the throne he thought that all contact with Western Europe had to be sensured or stopped. The central tool of the Tsar was His Imperial Majestys Private Chancery. The Third Section was in charge of state security. Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855) was especially afraid of revolts against him because of the Decembrist revolt in 1825. This was a military protest in St. Petersburg by Russian army officers and intellectuals who had been affected by liberalism in Western Europe, deriving mainly from France through the Napoleonic Wars. These officers had realised the backwardness of Tsarist autocracy, and now sought to abolish serfdom, as an obstacle to economic prosperity, and modernize Russia through western technical and philosophical ideas. This was, ironically, the same thing that Peter I had wanted to do. The problem this time was that the Tsars autocracy was at stake. Nikolas I regarded the West as his personal enemies, and therefore ordered the Third Section of his Chancery to use censorship and surveillance methods in order to strictly limit reports of events in Western Europe and to suppress criticism of domestic social conditions. The criticism revealed itself through works of people like Alexander Pushkin and Pyotr Chaadaev, but also through the plays of Nikolai Gogol, who satirised the institution of serfdom in his novel Dead Souls. This is highly similar to what was happening in the USA, where Slave narratives like Uncle Toms Cabinand other literary publications were written by the pro-abolitionists. These works were not censored like in Russia, due to the First Amendment in the United States Constitution Bill of Rights where it is written: Congress shall make no law(à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. This also clearly shows how completely different the American and Russian society was. In 1858 there were 22.5 million serfs in the Russian countryside. Another 19 million where tied to lands owned by the state. 41.5 million out of a 74 million population  [22]  . The everyday life of a slave and serf in the 19th century While the white americans in the last part of the 19th century enjoyed a better standard of living than any other people on earth  [23]  , the black americans suffering was below criticism. In Russia conditions were of the medieval kind. The North of the USA was more industrialised, while the South continued their traditional farming. Of course, there was much farming in the North as well, but due to the industry they posessed, they produced almost 90% of the nations manufactured output in the 1850s. Slavery therefore existed only in the South, were there was a supposed need for it. In some defence of the South, only 25% of Southern families owned slaves. In Russia on the other hand, the whole country was based upon the vast countryside. Little industry existed, thus keeping Russian serfs intact on the fields. The number of serfs was naturally greater than the number of slaves. At least in the beginning of the 19th century auctioning was less brutal. Now dealers and owners advised against splitting up families. It still happened though, and many family members never saw each other again. The splitting up of families ended in Russia with a law of 1833. Most of the slaves were put to do the hard physical work on the cotton fields and farms. The white owners were most often performing hard work themselves, but the slaves were always inferior to them because in need for money slaves could be sold. In Russia the nobility didnt have to do the hard physical work. The simple and inferior serfs where to do it. Many slaves turned to Christianity and faith in God. In Russia, where the serfs were mainly Orthodox, the Church told people to withstand their hard conditions patiently. Still many, quite understandably, protested against their owners both through resistance to work and violence against them. In the US this often resulted in a visit to the Lashing House. The Lasher was a legally-appointed functionary to whom slaves were sent with just a letters notice from the owner as to how many lashes the slave was to recieve. This show that even though few people owned slaves in the South, most of them accepted it to rather big extents. Emancipations compared The abolishment of slavery in the USA and the emancipation of the serfs in Russia happened as a consequence of two wars. The American Civil War (1861-1865), where the blacks proved themselves through great acts of courage and valour, and the Crimean War (1853-1856), where Russian serf soldiers, even though brave, could not defeat the Western modern troops of Britain and France. The Civil War was to a significant extent the result of tensions between pro- and anti-slavery states, and as the war progressed slavery became the main theme. The Crimean War was the war of one supposed very strong power, Russia, verses Britain and France. Autocracy and serfdom against democracy and industrialisation. I find it very interesting to at this moment observe how the Civil War was about the neccesity of victory to abolish slavery, while the Crimean War resulted in defeat and pre-unintendedly led to emancipation of the serfs as the beginning of tremendous reforms. Note also that both wars and emancipations occurred at approximately the same time. Conclusion When we look upon how the United States of America and the Russian Empire came to be, there are practically no similarities, except the law making which defined slaves and serfs. By the mid-19th century slaves and serfs possesed almost the same identical status in their societies, which meant not possesing anything at all. The ethnical difference between slaves and serfs thus loses any significance. Both groups where human beings being oppressed by other human beings who acknowledged themselves as being superior. The everyday life of slaves and serfes were both characterised by bad conditions with practically no legal protection. Both slaves and serfs tried some form of riots, both groups consisted of runaways, and physical punishment happened if the owner wasnt satisfied. Suspicion and mistrust was an everyday reality. Both groups experienced auctioning and splitting up of families. Slaves and serfs alike were needed for agricultur in the rural parts of their respective countries. Slave and serf were understood to be inferior to their owners. There was, in quantity, more serfdom in Russia than there was slavery in the US, but in quality they experienced the same discrimination and unrightousness. Even though the slaves came from Africa, and lived as a minority in the USA, they ended up fighting like true heroes for their freedom in the American Civil War. The serfs of Russia where no minority, but actually the majority. They were Russians in bondage. A final comparing of slavery and serfdom would be to try to find out wheter it was worse in the USA or in Russia. I have come to the conclusion that it would be unwise to do so. Both systems consisted of people doing terrible acts against fellow people, black or white doesnt matter. This is also what we should learn from this history, and enlighen ourselves minds to fight this kind of atrocity to ever happen again.

Life of Paul Cuffee Essay

More than for 500 years, people of African origin have shaped the course of not only American but the history of the whole world. We are proud of many African-Americans that had put so much hard work to make our society as good and developed as it is nowadays. There are lots of Blacks, who are very famous for their deeds and deserve to be remembered as honorable society members, such as Phyllis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Jacobs and others . The main objective of this paper will be the analyses of life and work of Paul Cuffee. Paul Cuffee was born on the 17th of January on Chuttyhunk Island in Southeastern Massachusetts, as a free child and a son of an African father and Native American mother. His father, named Kofi, was a member of the West-African tribe known as Ashanti tribe in Ghana. He was captured there and brought to America when he was ten. He was made a slave of Ebenezer Slocum, a Quaker of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, but the skills of good carpenter helped Kofi (Cuffe) to buy his freedom. He even managed to educate himself and later married to Ruth Moses, who was a Wampanoag Indian from Massachusetts. The Native Americans were not enslaved, so their children were born free. Paul did not want to take the name of his father’s possessor and chose his father’s name, which was Cuffe (or Cuffee). His family also owned a 116-acre farm in Westport, which was very rare at that time as most of the other African people were enslaved. The family was large and counted ten children: six daughters and four sons (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). After the death of his father, Paul Cuffee, at the age of 16 and with the knowledge only of an alphabet, already had many ambitious dreams such as getting an education and having a career in shipping industry. The boy always showed a kinship to navigation, boatbuilding and trade. When he was a teenager he constructed small boats. This hobby ended in trading among the islands of Massachusetts (â€Å"Paul Cuffee (1759-1817)†, 2013). He started to do the job of an ordinary seaman on fishing and whaling boats – this was in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was caught and held as a prisoner by British soldiers for three month during the Revolutionary War, but once he was released, he managed to start minor coastal trading. Paul bought some ships together with his sister’s husband Michael Wainer, who was a Native American. Because of his partner was afraid to sail big sea distances, in 1779 Cuffee tried to deliver the cargo to Nantucket alone, but he was waylaid by pirates. He continued to ship aboard a whaler owned by the Quaker merchants, prominent Rotch family and whalers of New Bedford. Despite the fact that pirates were very active those days and have attached the local sailors a lot, Paul’s business was prospering (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Cuffe’s business started to grow and he had enough money to built bigger vessels and successfully traded north to Labrador and south to Virginia (â€Å"Petition for Relief from Taxation†, 2013). Paul gathered rather big capital that helped him to expand his ownership and to get a fleet of ships. He commissioned the closed-deck boat, which could ship around 14-15 ton known as Box Iron. Just after that, another achievement that followed was a18-20 ton schooner. In the 1780s Paul already owned schooner Sun Fish and schooner Mary, which in total could transport cargo of approximately 65 tons. In 1796, just right after the mentioned schooners Sunfish and Mary were sold, Cuffee’s shipyard in Westport launched a 69-ton schooner known as Ranger. Eventually he could afford to buy a large farmstead and in 1799 he bought property in Westport for $3,500. Later he bought a half of the 162-ton barque Hero. Paul was so wealthy, that he maybe was one of the richest man among all Native American and African American of the in the United States of the 19th century (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Just a couple of weeks before the Revolution ended, Paul married Alice Pequit, who was also Wampanoag Indian, the same as Cuffee’s mother. This marriage brought seven children to Cuffe’s family: David, Sarah, Jonathan, Mary,John, Phebe, Ruth, Lydia, Freelove and Paul. On the 17th of January the youngest son was born. The child was biracial, but born free, as the two parents were not enslaved (Cordeiro, 2004). The Roch family and other successful merchants have inspired Paul to build his own empire, which was very successful. The crews that he employed were mainly African American and  Native American people. Eventually his ships were on both sides of the Atlantic. He opened an outlet in New Bedford, where he sold the goods that he imported (â€Å"Paul Cuffee (1759-1817)†, 2013). Being a businessman with an African American and Native American crews, Paul managed to earn the respect of many white Americans through the relationships in the Quaker faith. When Cuffee was twenty-one he refused to pay taxes. This protest was done along with his brother and lasted from 1778 till 1780. The main motivation for that was that free black Americans did not have the right to vote, but according to the governmental laws of that time, African Americans were taxed. He even petitioned the council of Bristol County in 1780, Massachusetts to put such taxation to an end. Despite the denial, later his petition was one of key factors that led to granting voting rights to all free male citizens by Legislature in 1783 (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Cuffee built a schoolhouse for African American children on his own property. He spent his money on that and it took him a couple of months to finish. After the school was built, Paul hired a knowledgeable teacher and opened the institution to the Westport residents. It was for kids, who were denied to visit other public schools. He implemented his own policy to the school’s administration, according to which children of all races were allowed to attend the studies, so the school was multiracial. This was just a beginning of a future fight against unfair treatment of the US and other governments towards the black people (Cordeiro, 2004). The majority of Anglo-Americans and English origin people considered African as lower race in comparison to Europeans, even in principally Calvinist and Quaker New England. Unfortunately the slavery continued, but some decent men like James Madison and Presidents Thomas Jefferson thought that colonies emigration of Blacks outside the US was the best and the easiest way to the fight the race problem in America (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Cuffee was involved not only in local activities. He played a crucial part in national and international events related Blacks in that time. Because of his successful business, Cuffee had contact all over the Atlantic seaboard, which connected the three important continents: Europe, North American and Africa (Cordeiro, 2004). Americans and Europeans put many efforts in all the parts of the world to colonize Black, but they were all unsuccessful. One of such attempts was related to Sierra Leone colonization. The Sierra Leone Company  was a main sponsor of 400 people departure from Great Britain to Western African colony. The colony was rebelling and wanted to create a working and competitive economy and a government, which would be strong enough to resist the outside pressure. Eventually the Sierra Leone Company collapsed and another institution known as African Institution was offering migration to the released slaves, which have settled in London and Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. The institution’s sponsors were hoping to get some economical benefit by fostering the educated trades of Blacks (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Despite the fact that it was very difficult to colonize Sierra Leone, Cuffee really believed that it was a vital option and supported the movement. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Paul started to cooperate with the mentioned African Institution, which was based in London (Cordeiro, 2004). In U.S. the organization was very active in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. This all started in March 1807, when members of the institution encouraged him to help them. The main objective was to promote the immigration to Sierra Leone, a colony of Britain in West Africa. Cuffee was among those who recruited African Americans so they can settle there; he transported a big amount of families and explored the local economy trying to find ways of its improving. This was all mainly done for his own funds (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biog raphy†). Paul Cuffee wrote in his letters, that he really felt like going to Sierra Leone, he wanted to see the situation in the country. He believed that the inhabitants of that colony were talented people, which, as well as he did, deserved to feel the true light of Christianity and be benefited thereby (â€Å"Captain Paul Cuffe’s Logs and Letters†). Paul obtained a bill, given by the Committee of the Whole from the Senate and the President of the United States, which gave him a right to leave US with the cargo and come back with a cargo from Sierra Leone. He was nominated by government and had all the privilege to be treated properly (â€Å"History of Congress†). Cuffee studied all the logistics and the possible outcome, when finally on December in 1810 he left U.S. for his first voyage to Sierra Leone. He managed to get to the colony on the 1st of March in 1811. He was travelling all over the place to explore the local habits and economy in order to find the possibilities to development. He met the officials there, but they were against of the colonization idea, as they were afraid of American merchants, because this could create a lot of  unfair competition. Moreover, the cargo, which Cuffee intended to trade off, did not sell well as the tariff charges implemented by British trading system were too high. Eventually this did not stop Cuffee and on the 7th of April 1811 he made an appointment with key Black entrepreneurs. An outcome was that a special petition for the African Institution was written, which stated that people in the colony wanted to work in merchanting, whaling industry and agriculture. This indicated that those three areas were the main objective of the future growth and development of the colony. Cuffee together with the black businessmen set the Friendly Society foundation in Sierra Leone. Its main aim was to ensure further prosperity and industry development among all free peoples. Another area to work on was related to breaking the strong merchants trade established there by British. Cuffee decided to go to UK in order to make sure that colony will get further aid. He arrived to Liverpool in July 1811. There he met the officials of the African Institution in London, who collected some funds for the Friendly Society. He also obtained further required governmental license and permissions to continue his delegation in Sierra Leone. Paul was happy to come back to the West African colony where he shared the ideas of the Friendly Society with the local merchants. Together they elaborated plans for Sierra Leone to grow by building a saw mill, grist mill, salt works and rice-processing factory. Later Cuffee was involved with similar venture, which was backed by Americans and let to creation of the American Colonization Society and colony in Liberia (Cordeiro, 2004). During that period of history the relations between the Great Britain and United States were strained, which led to embargo establishment on British goods in 1811. This had somehow a negative outcome on Cuffee’s voyage, as when in April 1812 he reached Newport on his ship, it was usurped by U.S. customs officers along with all its cargo. This case was not being resolved locally, so Paul Cuffee left to Washington, D.C. to file an official appeal to his case. In the White House he met with the President James Madison and Albert Gallatin, who was a Secretary of the Treasury in that time. Cuffee was warmly welcomed and treated there. Madison was on his side and later ordered to release the goods, based on the information that Cuffee did not know about the political disagreements and did not deliver the goods with the intention to violate any laws. Cuffee shared his observations and experience, which he gained  during his trip to Sierra Leone. First the President seemed to be very interested in further expansion of the colony in Africa, but eventually he refuses to participate in Cuffee’s further investigations, as he saw this mission not possible because of too many problems and obstacles that U.S. will be facing during further attempts of Sierra Leone colonization. This was all related to the fact that it was initially fully British project. Still Cuffee obtained a legal permission to become an official authority on Africa in the United States. Cuffee had clear intentions to visit Great Britain’s colony of Sierra Leone on a regular basis, but his plans were interrupted because of the sudden War of 1812, which started in June and was a war between the British Empire and the United States. This prevented Paul from visiting the colony for a while. Despite the fact that Cuffee was opposed the war because of his Christian beliefs, he was really against any interruptions that could have been caused by war and resulted as an impact on trading and goods delivery from Sierra Leone. The war continued, so Cuffee took a change to convince U.S and Great Britain to ease restrictions on trading. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful and he waited until the war ended in 1815 (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Meanwhile, Paul remained an active political life and paid a couple of visits to Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York, where he spoke to groups of free African Americans about the colony. He encouraged Blacks to create organizations within their cities, to talk to each other and to have a correspondence with the Friendly Society at Sierra Leone and the African Institution. A special pamphlet with the ideas of Paul Cuffee related to Sierra Leone was printed at that time and distributed to general public. He rebuilt the Westport Friends’ Meeting House in summer of 1813, which was a meeting house for the multi-racial members of the Society of Friend, where Cuffee spoke and preached regularly on a Sunday meetings. Most of the money for that was coming from Cuffee’s personal funds. It is important to mention that war impacted Cuffee’s business and during that year he facial financial crisis. He has a number of unprofitable ventures related to ships. One vessel was considered unseaworthy and has never returned from Chile. Luckily the war ended and the Treaty of Ghent was signed at the end of 1814. After some time taken to recover, Paul was prepared to go back to Sierra Leone (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). The first ship with thirty-eight Blacks shipped from Westport  on December 10, 1815. Among the passengers were 18 adults and 20 children (Cordeiro, 2004). The price of organization of that expedition was $5000. Eighty percents of those expenses were covere d by Cuffee. The rest was paid by passengers and with the help of donation by William Rotch from Massachusetts. The colonist arrived to the colony with their own belongings such as hoes, axes, wagon and a plow, but they were not treated as well as it was expected by Cuffee. This was related to the fact that Governor was facing difficulties in keeping the existing population in order, which could have even worsen the situation if more emigrant have arrived. Moreover, the act known as the Militia Act was imposed upon the colony and obliges males to swear of loyalty to the Crown. People had concerns, because it could have been an obligation to go to military service. Despite the negative outcome related to economical benefits and sales, the positive was the fact that colonist have finally settles in Freetown. Cuffee spent lots of money by supporting the new inhabitants with money for the first year’s provisions. It was planned initially that Cuffee will be reimbursed by the African Institution, but due to heavy tariff duties there was a big deficit in the budget. Actually Paul was never given money by the African Institution in Britain. After coming back to USA in 1816, Cuffee searched for financial support from New York’ division of the American Institution and has eventually obtained $439.62 for further investments into Sierra Leone’s colonists (â€Å"A Paul Cuffe Biography†). Soon in1816, Cuffee proposed a newly-designed emigration plan for African Americans, which was related not only to Sierra Leone but also possibly to Haiti. Provide funds. Congress did not approve the petition to provide funds for that. People all over U.S. have started to show more and more interest in immigration to Africa, believing that it would help to solve the racial problems. Cuffee was trying to find support from other institutions, but some of them were not honest, such as American Colonization Society (ACS) , which was alarmed as a racist organization. The ideas were supported by many other Americans, but later they turned in favor of emigration to Haiti, where the immigrants were welcomed and supported by the President Boyer Since 1817 Cuffee was not feeling himself well and has never visited Africa again. He died in September of that year surrounded by his family and friends. Cuffee was buried at the Quaker Meeting House near Westport (Cordeiro, 2004). To  conclude, it should be mentioned that Cuffee was and is considered one of the greatest persons in African-American history. He was a first African-American who had a success in implementation of ideas of Blacks. He fought the existing racism of that time with the help of tolerant and Christian methods. Not only he opposed himself, but he also managed to dwell public attention to the current situation with Blacks, which helped people a lot. He was a successful businessman, who could have had just a happy and calm life, but spent his time and effort to explore Sierra Leone, donated his own money to make the life of immigrants there as good as possible and helped in many other ways to people. I think this person is worth to be admired and remembered thought all future generations of the world. References A Paul Cuffe Biography. (n.d.) SlideShare, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/rbgstreetscholar1/a-paul-cuffe-biography Paul Cuffee (1759-1817). (2013). Paul Cuffee School. Retrieved from http://www.paulcuffee.org/about/mission-history/paul-cuffee/ Petition for Relief from Taxation. (2013). Abstract. Pearson Education. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/cuffe-taxation-petition/ Cordeiro, B.N. (2004). Paul Cuffe: A Study of His Life and the Status of His Legacy in Old Dartmouth. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved from http://paulcuffe.home.comcast.net/~paulcuffe/Paul_Cuffe_Thesis_by_Brock_Cordeiro.pdf Captain Paul Cuffe’s Logs and Letters. (n.d.). Estimed froends John James and Alexander Wilson. Westport 6 mo 10th 1809. Paul Cuffee. Retrieved from http://atlanticslaverydebate.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/shared/ASD/Module2/InitialCrrspdnceCuffe1809.pdf History of Congress. (n.d.). A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Co ngressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875. The Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=027/llac027.db&recNum=221

Mapp vs. Ohio Cort Case

Mapp V Ohio â€Å"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,† Mapp V. Ohio (1961) dealt with that very sentence of the constitution. Were the officers at fault or Mapp? This complex question has a complex answer one that puzzled the Supreme Court and led to a change in criminal procedure. The verdict was a strict interpretation of the constitution. The fourth amendment was relevant because the fourteenth amendment grunted due process. It was a very good decision, it protected the black minority who at the time were being routinely harassed and convicted for no reasons. This decision certainly did not stop that but it made it harder for the police to seize evidence unlawfully and put a stop to bad practice of law at the state level. The land mark Supreme Court ruling on Mapp v Ohio changed the way people thought of the fourth amendment and how it could be applied to protect the individual form unlawful search and seizure. Previously the law surrounding the fourth amendment’s protection from unjust searches was extremely enigmatic. Its application varied form case to case until the Weeks rule was enacted in 1914. The Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained via an illegal search and seizure was not admissible in federal court. However the Supreme Court did not make the states adopt the Weeks rule. The legal loop hole it created made it legal for states to present and prosecute with evidence detained in an unconstitutional tactic. In Mapp v Ohio a case that brought all the questions into the spotlight. On May 23, 1957, three Cleveland police officers arrived at appellant's residence in that city perusing information that â€Å"a person [was] hiding out in the home, who was wanted for questioning in connection with a recent bombing, and that there was a large amount of policy paraphernalia being hidden in the home. † Ms. Mapp was living with her daughter when the police officers arrived and demanded entrance to her home. After consulting her attorney she did not allow them in without a warrant. The officer’s left leaving one man to watch the house. Three hours later the police came back with more officers. After breaking down the door they brandished a piece of paper they claimed to be a warrant. Mapp snatched the piece of paper and stuffed it down her shirt. After a short altercation the â€Å"warrant† was retrieved. Immediately following the confrontation the officers’ embarked on a top to bottom search of the Mapp residence. They found no evidence of the gambling equipment or the suspect in the recent bombing. Frustrated with the fruitless search the police focused on a suitcase they found tucked under a bed. Inside the suitcase were a small collection of pornographic pictures and magazines. In Cleveland it is illegal to possess obscene materials. She was tried and convicted of possession of obscene materials. The constitutional question is whether or not the rights of the fourth amendment are viable in state courts. The fourth amendment gives the people the right to privacy and protects them from unlawful searches and seizures. When the Warren court ruled in favor of Mapp, Justice Clark cited two constitutional amendments that protected Ms. Mapp. â€Å"Since the Fourth Amendment's right of privacy has been declared enforceable against the States through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth, it is enforceable against them by the same sanction of exclusion as is used against the Federal Government. He reasoned that because the states had to abide by the fourth amendment’s right to privacy then the exclusionary rule should also be applied to state courts. Clark also addressed the concern of letting a criminal go when he or she is legally not guilty because of the excusatory rule, â€Å"it is the law that sets him free† and that â€Å"nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws. † The law must be observed in all instances where it is viable. In the case of Mapp v Ohio the Warren court overturned her conviction by a vote of 6-3. Justice Clark wrote the decision and argued because the fourteenth amendment guaranteed protection in state court then the fourth amendment excusatory rule was clearly enforceable in state court. Clark cited the fat that 26 states had already adopted the excusatory rule. The Supreme Court could no longer trust the state courts to manage themselves. With discrimination and ill practice extensively practiced throughout the states the population was becoming tired of it. The bulk of society was ready for this ruling years before it occurred. Justice Clark had a history of dealing with fourth amendment cases ruling in favor of the defendant in United States v. Jeffers. The counter argument to the verdict was described by commentators as â€Å"the most significant limitation ever imposed on state criminal procedure by the Supreme Court in a single judgment. † Clamming that â€Å"justice would be obstructed and limited by procedure† The court’s decision to find Mapp innocent was a liberal ruling. When the ruling was made many police officers did not respect blacks. Mapp was a black women and that was a big part of the case. In that time it was acceptable to search and seize Negros belongings without a warrant and it was done on a regular basis. It was liberal because it protected the minority taking power away from state governments and greatly limiting the ability for the police to gather evidence in unlawful ways. When the verdict came to fruition many of the states fighting this verdict were also heavily opposed to the Brown vs. Board of Education case. The connection being that these racist states were worried blacks would gain rights and they would no longer be able to seize their belongings unlawfully. Once again this law took power away from these racist state governments and gave power to the blacks who were regularly- being harassed and having there belongings searched and seized. Illegal search and seizure has been an issue that plagued the court system for years. Flurries of cases were brought to the Supreme Court before and after Mapp vs. Ohio case. Many cases were decided in favor of illegal evidence being applicable in court. Such as Carroll v. United States 267 U. S. 132 (1925) a case that denied the suppression of evidence because it was illegally seized. George Carroll and John Kiro were arrested for the transportation of alcohol in violation of the Volstead Act (national alcohol prohibition) and subsequently convicted. The Supreme Court upheld the decision by a vote of 6-2. Weeks v. United States 232 U. S. 383 (1914) created the excusatory rule and was the first trial where evidence was deemed to be not viable in court because of the way it was gathered. The excusatory rule has been dumbed down a lot from its original scope and applications, several cases have limited the fourth amendment in court. United States v. Calandra, 414 U. S. 338 (1974) limited the rule by allowing evidence to be used to convict a man who was a loan shark. They had a warrant to search and seize gambling paraphilia, when an officer discovered and seized several documents relating to a loan shark operation. When he was being tried for this offense Calandra attempted to suppress the evidence because it was not specified in the warrant. The Supreme Court ruled that it was appropriate for use in the court. Justice Powel mad the decision, Powell limited the scope of the exclusionary rule in holding that it did not limit the government's ability to use illegally seized evidence in â€Å"all proceedings or against all persons†. Holding that the duties of a grand jury would be substantially hindered by allowing a witness to invoke the exclusionary rule while offering only a minimal limiting effect on police misconduct. Although no cases completely overturned the Mapp v. Ohio ruling several more cases did limit the power of the rule in favor of the greater good and not allowing criminals to walk because of a procedural issue. The overall impact of Mapp v. Ohio is immeasurable. The American people won a victory for privacy and seriously limited police’s ability to gather evidence. This was a good interpretation of the constitution. The fourteenth amendment clearly states that everyone is entitled to the due process of law, â€Å"nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. † Thus making the fourth amendment applicable in state courts.

pain assesment essays

pain assesment essays Running head: PAIN ASSESSMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN The Wisconsin Childrens Hospital Pain Scale for Preverbal Children: A Descriptive Study Experiences of Nurses Using the University of Wisconsin Childrens Hospital Pain Scale for Preverbal Children: A Descriptive Study Most patients in the hospital setting experience pain. Pain is a subjective phenomenon that varies from person to person. The most relied upon indicator of pain is a patients verbal report of the pain, but what happens when the patient cannot verbalize his pain? This is the case with infants and other nonverbal patients. They experience pain but are unable to tell a nurse where it hurts, how it hurts, and the intensity to which it hurts. OConner-Von (2000) stated "if self-report is not available, physiologic or behavioral measures must be used" (p. 1), and "nurses are the key health care personnel responsible for continuous assessment in children in the health care setting" (p. 1). Nurses need a reliable and continuous means of pain assessment for the preverbal population. A study of the pediatric pain practices of national health professionals showed that only twenty percent of the sample used a behavioral assessment scale (Broome, Richtsmeier, Maikler, s report as to whether or not the patient was in pain. While this method of pain assessment can be accurate, it can also vary widely between nurses as no two nurses have the same perception or as...

Comparisons Between Two Movie Trailers Essays

Comparisons Between Two Movie Trailers Essays Comparisons Between Two Movie Trailers Essay Comparisons Between Two Movie Trailers Essay Both the trailers of Gladiator and Pokemon show their titles at the end. This gives a dramatic line up towards the title. Both titles are shown very well. There are loud thumps and the fonts of the titles make connection to its background and sound effects. In the trailers, this happens with all the big names including actors and directors. Both Gladiator and Pokemon are action packed, so their genres are action-adventure. The trailer of Gladiator, however, shows more violence in terms of blood and gore. On the other hand, Pokemon shows the kind of violence that is suitable for children. The older, more mature person may find the trailer of Pokemon less interesting, as firstly it shows bright colours in two- dimensional characters therefore being a cartoon, and secondly, all cartoons are based at children and he or she may find the trailer childish and boring. Even though the trailer of Gladiator shows more violence, the two trailers are similar in the way they show their action packed parts. The visual effects in each trailer show tiny flashes or linkages that bring the next frame to sight. The audio effects also make the audience more aware of what type of film it is. Gladiator starts with loud, heavy drum beats that are very powerful and helps notice what kinds of things the trailer is going to possess. From these drum beats there are louder sections of music, which match with the visuals. Together, we notice that the trailer will show action. In Pokemon, there is a heavy voice over which easily gives away the movie genre. As the voice has a powerful, calling effect, we not only notice what type of genre the trailer will show, but we also notice how demanding the trailer becomes because of it. For example, it is as if a person is calling you from the kitchen to come and see the trailer. Also, the music in the back fits in with the low voice and together they form the ultimate dynamic duos. Gladiator has an obvious unique selling point. It is Russell Crowe. Throughout each frame we see parts that link in with Russell Crowe. When we are told that Russell Crowe is starring in the film, by his name coming up in a black screen, we are straight after shown a mid shot from a camera pointing up at Russell Crowe in a mise en scene. This gives an overpowering effect and tells the audience that this is one of his movies where he means business. Even more, people who watch over trailers will see that in the last frame of the trailer, the name Russell Crowe appears before the title itself. This is called an A list and shows that Russell Crowe is the main actor of the film. The unique selling point of the Pokemon trailer is somewhat different to an actual man in Gladiator. As visual effects of the trailer are always based on Pokemon, we know that the unique selling point cannot be anything else but the title of the trailer itself. The Pokemon craze was very well set up. When it spread to western countries including England, every child had to watch Pokemon television programmes, have their own set of Pokemon cards, toys and videos. When the trailer was released every child had to go and see the movie it brought with it. So the unique selling point is far less materialised, but is the actual Pokemon craze itself. In the Pokemon trailer, although we are made to believe the fight is between Mew and Mewtwo, we see many of the Pokemon in trailer wandering about or in the battles themselves. But even then we see that the craze is far more powerful than any other specific unique selling point. Therefore by analysing both the genres of the trailers and their unique selling points we are able to see the target audiences that the directors are selecting. The target audiences for Gladiator are those who enjoy blood and gore, and those that like or would die for Russell Crowe. Target audiences for the Pokemon trailer are those who enjoy cartoons and those who are mentally and physically obsessed with the Pokemon itself i.e. children. We can say mentally and physically because of the Pokemon craze. By mentally, I mean those children or people who enjoy watching and thinking about Pokemon. By physically, I mean those children or people who like collecting Pokemon toys and cards. In addition to the less detailed trailers, the Pokemon trailer is clever in the way that it involves its target audience: Bring all YOUR skill. This allows the target audience to be allowed to have permission to feel like they are in an actual arena instead of feeling as if they are in the same old cinem a. All movies have some kind of an advertisement. An advertisement is the act of advertising or making something known, in this case the movie, using any means of device, for obtaining public notice or notoriety. Whether it be a trailer or a poster, the whole point of them are to lure people who enjoy the kind of setting it portrays (target audience). All advertisements have their target audiences, unique selling points, genre, and show who directed the film, who acts in the film and has to show the title of the film. The adverts have visual and audio effects, which portray these subjects. As both of the trailers show these subjects very well with special effects, both the trailers were known for their class and showings of these subjects. For example, this year at the Oscars, Gladiator was awarded best picture and picked up four other Oscars as well. Russell Crowe was awarded best leading actor for his appearances in his movie premier, Gladiator. The other Oscars the movie won were Best costume design, sound and visual effects. This shows that because of the vast amount of publicity that the advertisements of Gladiator brought, so many people went to see the movie, that in the end it was awarded all those Oscars.

Planning Function of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning Function of Management - Essay Example Introduction Before going to evaluate the planning function of an oilfield company, let us get a better understanding of what planning actually is. Planning is one of the core functions of management. â€Å"Planning involves selecting company goals and department objectives, then finding ways of implementing them† (Hahn, 2011). Proper planning by the managers provides a number of benefits to their organizations, such as, avoidance of confusions, reduction of risks, improved production services, completion of tasks within deadlines, and correct use of all available resources. Let us discuss planning function of management in some detail in order to know the role that it plays in the success of a company 2. Name of the Selected Company The company whose planning function we are going to evaluate is Schlumberger, which is an oilfield company. Employing over 110,000 employees from different parts of the world, Schlumberger is the world’s biggest oilfield services providing company. Schlumberger is a provider of different products and services to the energy sector of different countries. Some of the core business operations of this company include managing geological data, locating hydrocarbons, construction of the wells, drilling, and managing lifecycle of the reservoirs. 3. Planning Function For the managers at Schlumberger, planning holds great importance in all processes of management. â€Å"At this stage, the company is given an objective† (Spindler, 2008). Planning means to recognize organizational goals and to develop proper strategies to meet those goals. Planning not only includes setting goals for the future but also includes development of tactics and strategies to meet those goals. Wijesinghe (2010) states, â€Å"Planning requires administration to assess; where the company is presently set, and where it would be in the upcoming†. Managers at Schlumberger firmly believe that they cannot achieve desired goals without doing prop er planning based on the analysis of facts and figures. Moreover, they also develop separate plans for different business operations. The reason is that every operation has a different set of requirements, so different type of planning needs to be done in the beginning of any specific operation to complete the operation successfully. Rothbauer-Wanish (2009) states, â€Å"Planning may take time in the beginning, but it saves time and reduces difficulties that may occur in the future†. 3.1 Types of Planning For proper planning, managers consider many factors, such as, availability of resources, assessment of organizational environment, future trends of the oil and gas industry, assessment of industrial demands, and proper use of capital. At Schlumberger, managers need to do different types of planning to. Some of those types of planning include marketing planning, construction planning, production planning, and project planning. Marketing planning means to develop appropriate s trategies for the marketing of the company’s products and services. For marketing planning, Schlumberger’s managers consider 4Ps of the marketing mix to develop a proper marketing plan. For construction planning, managers consider different aspects of a project to develop a plan for that project. Some of the major aspects, which managers consider, include site of the project, needs of the client firm, geological survey, and feasibility of the project. Production managers also do proper planning to enhance production services, such as, pipeline process services, well intervention

Human Resource Management - Learning Assignment

Human Resource Management - Learning - Assignment Example In order to understand these new needs, and fit the support systems to the business context, HR professionals need to be part of the planning process right from the start. The strategy that a company adopts has to be deliverable, and the contribution of HR can make sure that the whole organization is geared up to match strategic objectives, using tools like rewards systems, orientation programs, working time arrangements and many others. If strategic planning and HR are separate, then a gap can develop which hampers progress towards corporate objectives. If HR is involved in strategic planning then employees can be sure that details such as the terms of their contracts and the working arrangements in their teams have been put together in alignment with company objectives. There is consistency across the board when points of debate or contention arise, and employees are less likely to be caught between conflicting messages. HR can serve as a useful channel for information to flow from the very top of the organization to the very bottom, and across the whole width of different departments or sections. The organization is therefore bonded together more fully. This means employee views are heard and their concerns can be fed into all processes at all stages. Sensitive processes like down-sizing are likely to run much more smoothly and fairly when HR considerations have been included in the planning stage. Management directives and core corporate values are much more likely to be adopted if HR has influenced their formation and implement ation (Williams, 2010). 3 What do you think are the risks involved (to HR and the organization as a whole) if HR does not make this a priority and instead remains a purely task-oriented department mostly administrative in nature? If HR remains a task-oriented department it will more than likely find itself in