The Catcher In The Rye Essays (572 words) - Literary Realism

The Catcher In The Rye The Catcher in the Rye ?The Catcher in the Rye? highlights the value of innocence. Holden is a teenage boy who finds himself caught between the corruptedness of growing up, and the beauty of staying innocent. Holden's relationship with Phoebe is unparrallel to his relationship with anybody else. She is the most innocent and pure person to him because he understands her, and she too loves him. Holden's desire to be a ?Catcher in the Rye? explains his wanting to protect innocence. To catch those who are innocent before they fall ( or grow up) into corruption and adulthood. Holden's attitude toward the adult world derrives from what he sees people selling out on from his eyes. He notices the way people unfairly treat each other and feels that they are fake. To make matters worse he finds himself staying in New York for a few days long enough to evaluate the type of people he dispises and to appreciate the people he loves. Phoebe is Holden's young sister. They have a close connection and love eachother very much. She is young but in Holden's eyes she is much more intellgent than people her age. She is straightforward and honest. Holden feels that he can talk to her without getting a phony response from her and is fascinated with her personality and in turn wants to protect her from the world that he knows as being corrupt. There is a point when she wants to run away with him but he doesnt allow it. As she insists he screams at her and hurts her feelings, causing her to get angry and begin to ignore him. As time passes they find themselves in a zoo and talking. This shows the close relationship that they have. Also she symbolizes the very thing that is trying to preserve in everything when he notices how innocent she looks having fun on the Caroussel. Holden's desire to be a ?Catcher in the Rye? comes from his wanting to preserve and protect the innocence that children have just like a Catcher protects children from falling off a cliff . He feels that this innocence is very valuble and shouldnt be tampered with or even stolen by the cruelties and dirtiness of the adult world which he has seen. He tries to protect people like Jane Gallagher and Phoebe by not telling Phoebe anything harsh, or by not calling Jane Gallagher for fear that she might have changed. Holden resents the adult world for being fake and insensitive to other people. Its a world of selfishness and un- authentic behaviors that Holden finds disgusting. He sees all the phony people who treat people according to status, or looks. He notices hypocrits and liars. Whats funny is that he himself is a liar, he admitts it and is in a sense proud of it . He lies to amuse himself which brings me to think that he is already growing up and loosing his innocence without even knowing it. ?The Catcher in the Rye? points out alot of things in every day life that people disregard or simply dont notice because they are too involved in their own affairs. The world just appears to be a big lie in the eyes of Holden Caulfield and as a Catcher, wants to stop it from sucking in the pure. Phoniness always wins in the end which is deppressing. I can honestly say that although I didnt like the book all that much, I did realize that I share alot of Holden's views. I think I would be naive if I didnt. Book Reports

Free Essays on Esmeralda Santiago

as her medium, Santiago paints a beautiful picture of her life. I smelled the spices and herbs emanating from the special Puerto Rican dishes her mami prepared. Mesmerized, I watched as her abuela delicately stitched her needlework. We laughed together and cried together, and I allowed my spirit to run free with hers. Santiago writes with such clarity and fierceness that it is impossible for any person not to see, feel and understand what she went through in her remarkable journey. Santiago's unique style is easy to follow. When I read the book, I was immediately hooked and could not stop until I read the last word. The stories are interesting and full of insight. She addresses fears and trials of all people. I especially related to her conflicts with her cultural identity. Anyone who has lived in-between two cultures can relate to her story. Santiago wrote: "When I returned to Puerto Rico after living in New York for seven years, I was told I was no longer Puerto Rican ... In writing the book I wanted to get back to that feeling of Puertoricanness I had before I came here. Its title reflects who I was then, and asks, who am I today?" Santiago's book provides a sense of hope. She is transformed from a co... Free Essays on Esmeralda Santiago Free Essays on Esmeralda Santiago This is a delightfully woven story of immense passion and unconquerable spirit. In this extraordinary autobiography, Santiago, an immigrant to New York from rural Puerto Rico, tells the story of her trials and triumphs, defeats and heart-aches in a unique concoction of vivid sensory detail. Santiago grew up in what her mami calls "savage" conditions, dutifully obeying her parents as they constantly move. Her greatest relocation occurred when a "metal bird" flew her, her mother and two of her siblings to the rough city of New York. This book is the account of the maturing of an extraordinary woman who overcame barriers formed by hate, prejudice, cultural differences, puberty and heartaches to rise triumphantly. Using words as her medium, Santiago paints a beautiful picture of her life. I smelled the spices and herbs emanating from the special Puerto Rican dishes her mami prepared. Mesmerized, I watched as her abuela delicately stitched her needlework. We laughed together and cried together, and I allowed my spirit to run free with hers. Santiago writes with such clarity and fierceness that it is impossible for any person not to see, feel and understand what she went through in her remarkable journey. Santiago's unique style is easy to follow. When I read the book, I was immediately hooked and could not stop until I read the last word. The stories are interesting and full of insight. She addresses fears and trials of all people. I especially related to her conflicts with her cultural identity. Anyone who has lived in-between two cultures can relate to her story. Santiago wrote: "When I returned to Puerto Rico after living in New York for seven years, I was told I was no longer Puerto Rican ... In writing the book I wanted to get back to that feeling of Puertoricanness I had before I came here. Its title reflects who I was then, and asks, who am I today?" Santiago's book provides a sense of hope. She is transformed from a co...

Advertising in Schools Essay Example for Free (#2)

Advertising in Schools Essay ? Although this semester our class has discussed the different types of advertising in the marketplace, one technique that was not discussed is that of advertising in schools. This idea is a growing technique that if conducted the right way, could perhaps benefit not only corporate organizations, but also schools and students. However, there are many critics, along with parents that feel advertising in schools is a horrible idea and could only lead to harm. Many advertisers view children as a profitable three-in-one market. That is, 1) As buyers themselves 2) As influencers of their parents purchases, and 3) As a future adult customer. Every year, children have an estimated $15 billion of their own money, of which they spend $11 billion of it on products such as toys, clothes, candy and snacks. Children also influence at least $160 billion in parental purchases. Generally speaking, today’s children have more money to spend than ever before. Companies know this and find that advertising to the ‘youth of the nation’ can be beneficial and lead to future dedicated customers. Because of the increase in children’s spending power in recent decades, advertisers have closely targeted children as consumers. New advertising strategies aimed at children have been steadily growing and expanding. The toy-related program, or program length commercial (which is just like a infomercial) is developed to sell toys, and stirred public attention and debates. Along with this form of advertising, 900-number telephone services were accused of being aimed at children. In the 1980’s, children got their own TV networks, radio networks, magazines, newspapers, kids’ clothing brands, and other high-price items such as video games and other high-tech products. Other new advertising strategies include kids’ clubs, store displays directed at children, direct mailing to children, and sponsored school activities. At first glance, selling corporate sponsorship rights to pay for school activities looks like a win-win situation. Needy schools get resources they need. Companies get new marketing opportunities that can build brand loyalty. After all, advertising in schools is nothing new. Districts have long used ads from local businesses to help pay the costs of school newspapers, yearbooks, and athletic programs. Even here at CBU our athletic department sells ads for ‘Sports Media Guides’ to local institutions as well as national organizations. A growing number of companies are offering schools money for a chance to market their products directly to students. As budgets shrink, schools must find ways to get extra funding. Many schools are doing away with fund-raising and have begun to look at corporate dollars to fund just about everything. Signing contracts with these companies seems like an easy way to get the money they need. Schools need funding for in-school activities and equipment, and, in order to reduce the number of children going home to empty houses, they need to fund many after-school activities. Product advertisements can be found almost everywhere in schools. They are most frequently found in stadiums, gymnasiums, school cafeterias, hallways, and on textbook covers. Some schools across the nation are even putting advertisements on school buses. So what types of advertising are out there in our schools? There are different categories that ads can fall into. The following categories can represent most the advertising techniques used in our schools today and give a description of how they work. Types of Advertising 1) In-school advertisements In-school ads are forms of advertising that can be found on billboards, on school buses, on scoreboards, in school hallways, in soft drink machines, or on sports uniforms. This type of advertising is also found in product coupons and in give-aways that are given to students. 2) â€Å"Exclusive rights† contracts A company gives money to schools that carry ONLY their products. Extra money can also be given if a schools’ sales exceed a certain amount(quota). 3) Corporate-sponsored educational materials and programs Sponsored educational materials include free or low-cost items which can be used for instruction. Examples of these may include; multimedia teaching kits, videotapes, software, books, posters, activity sheets, and workbooks. While some of these materials may be ad-free, others may contain advertising for the producer of the item, or they may contain biased information aimed at swaying students towards a company’s product or service. 4) Corporate-sponsored contests and incentive programs This is where students compete for prizes by selling, buying or collecting labels for a certain product. These contests and incentive programs bring brand names into the schools along with the promise of such rewards as free pizzas, cash, points towards buying educational equipment, or trips and other prizes. 5) Ads in classroom materials and programs Ads in classroom materials include any commercial messages in magazines or video programming used in school. A perfect example of this type of advertising is â€Å"Channel One†. Channel One is a 12-minute daily news show for students in grades 6 through 12 that includes two minutes of age-appropriate ads for products like jeans and soft drinks. In exchange for airing the program each day at the same time for three years, Channel One gives schools a satellite dish, a cable hookup, a television monitor for each classroom, and an agreement to service the equipment for the three years. While some state school systems had originally said ‘No’ to Channel One, the company reports to be present in some 350,000 classrooms. So what types of guidelines are set to insure that in-school advertising is done correctly and does not become overly exploited? Those who support the call for guidelines include educational groups such as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, The National Parent Teacher Association, and the National Education Association. The Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business(SOCAP) and Consumers International are two consumer interest groups that have formulated guidelines for sponsored materials. These guidelines suggest that†¦ † †¦ education materials should be accurate, objective, clearly written, nondiscriminatory, and noncommercial. † (Karpatkin & Holmes) In dealing with the issues of in-school commercialism, Karpatkin & Holmes suggest a three-pronged approach that includes: * Reviewing all sponsored materials and activities and holding them to the same standards as other similar items by using the SOCAP guidelines. * Pursuing noncommercial partnerships with businesses and rejecting the notion that it is ethical to bring advertising into the schools to provide materials or funds. * Begin the teaching of media literacy in elementary school, to educate children to be critical readers of advertising, propaganda, and other media messages. Groups that support advertising in schools have very strong arguments to back their case. It seems that there is a large area for investment in advertising in schools. It also appears that if handled correctly, advertising techniques in schools can lead to the raising of an overall helpful, efficient way to ‘fundraise’. Although advertising in schools may bring needed increases in funds, it is not without controversy. Many people are opposed to advertising in schools. They feel that children are being exploited for profit because big companies feel students are a captive, impressionable audience. Is there any way to balance the true goals and purposes of advertising in schools? Perhaps the best way is to have each school decide what amount and types of advertising in their schools is acceptable. And although advertising in schools seems to be a great way of obtaining funds for school activities, every school board should definitely be sure they know what they are getting into before signing any contracts with big time corporations. In-school Advertising Grace Farrell Promotional Strategy Dr. Peyton 12/02/02 Bibliography Chaika, Gloria. Education World. 1998 Education World. Consumers Union Education Services(CUES). 1990. Selling America’s Kids: Commercial Pressures on Kids of the 90’s. Yonkers, N. Y. Karpatkin, Rhoda, H. and Anita Holmes. 1995. Making schools ad-free zones. Educational Leadership 53(Sep, 1):72-76. McNeal, James U. 1990. Kids as customers. New York: Lexington Books. McNeal, James U. â€Å"Planning Priorities for Marketing to Children†. The Journal of Business Strategy. 1991. Advertising in Schools. (2016, Oct 18).

Moral Problems Raised by the Immoralists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moral Problems Raised by the Immoralists - Essay Example In this argumentative essay, I will focus on finding out whether Plato provide adequate solution to the moral problems raised by immoralists and whether he provides good reasons to suggest that the good life is the best life (Melchert, 45) Plato’s dialogue referred to as Euthyphro brings out a discussion that occurred between Socrates and his counterpart, Euthyphro. The dialogue concerns the meaning of piety, as brought out by Socrates asking the meaning of piety, as well as impiety. He tries to clearly find out this virtue which he mostly regards as a manner of living that brings satisfaction to one’s duty both to gods and to humanity, this he affirms by saying â€Å"that which is considered holy by God is piety† This is of concern with respect to the fate of Socrates, who as seen from the dialogue has been accused of impiety and is thus is almost to be tried before the Athenian court in order to establish his guilt or innocence of the crime accused to him. His consistent argument is based on the opinion that the Athenian societies generally did not comprehend the real nature of either devotion or wickedness (Melchert, 18). This is observed when Socrates asks Euthyphro to reply to the question â⠂¬Å"What is piety?† He has an aim in doing this, for Euthyphro, a sophist, claims to be wise concerning such issues, while in the case of Socrates is making no such claim for himself but professes to just be ignorant. Socrates tries to find out how wise Euthyphro, and if not to the given standard, he will expose the shallowness of his claim. The statement of Socrates saying, â€Å"In cannot assent to your superior wisdom†. Euthyphro is seen to have the fame of being a wise individual, a mystic, and a fortuneteller. Being a teacher, he provides instructions on moral and political matters, as Socrates states, â€Å"I have become your disciple. You Mellitus, as I shall say to him, acknowledge Euthyphro to be a great theologian, and sound in his opinions†, (Plato’s Republic, 34).

American society and its laws Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American society and its laws - Case Study Example That power can mean those with money and influence in high places who have access to those who formulate the laws and rules [governmental bodies] they see as being in their favor. Or, it can mean a group that does not necessarily have financial power, but power nonetheless in sufficient numbers to influence those who make laws and rules. This type of influence can be seen in lobby groups whose power may lie in their association with a powerful entity, or, the influence may lie with a group large enough to have a negative effect on, say, a politician’s reelection goals if the politician does not promote the law they see as beneficial to their cause. At times those in power seek to create laws and rules that benefit the less powerful, but the act of getting the law or rule passed is still a function of their power. In general, laws are made to maintain order within the culture as perceived at times by special interests and at times by the wider group. Both can be discriminatory and/or can attempt to alleviate discrimination, depending upon the law, who it affects, and whether or not it singles out certain groups and inhibits or restricts their life and behavior. Unfortunately, â€Å"Racism, sexism, heterosexism and class privilege...[when it comes to law and rule making] create a system of advantage and disadvantage that enhances the life chances of some while limiting the life chances of others† (Rothenberg 117). This system has been in place since the beginning and is typified by Thomas Jefferson’s advocacy of a white yeoman class of small farmers who, as property owners, had a vested interested in preserving law and a role in administering it at the expense of poor whites destined to remain the downtrodden labor force. (Rothenberg, from Buck, Contructing Race and Creating White Privilege 35) Alarmingly not much has changed since that time. According to Pharr, the U.S. continues to promote a

Richard Arkwright Point of View Essay Essay Example for Free

Richard Arkwright Point of View Essay Essay I, Richard Arkwright, believe that child labor is not only an acceptable practice to allow, but also a necessary one. In many cities there are not enough local people to supply a factory owner, such as myself, with the workers needed to meet demand, and therefore the employment of child labor is needed. I myself come from a poor family that could not afford to send me to school. Instead, I was taught my reading and writing by my dear cousin Ellen. Despite my lack of schooling, I went from being a barber’s apprentice worth  £5 to being a factory owner worth  £500,000! Having to work instead of going to school does not condemn one to poverty for life! I would never employ a worker over the age of forty. My machines need to be managed by young workers who do not have a family or other obligations besides working at my factories. Therefore, without hiring children, there is a limited number of laborers to chose from. Here in Cromford, there are barely enough locals to supply me with the labor I need, so child labor is necessary. Child labor supplies families with another paycheck that they rely on, which is money that would not be coming in if that child was not allowed to work. In hard times like these, everyone in the family must help to support each other. If not, I believe that poverty in this country would increase greatly. I pay my workers up to five-pence and no more. I must keep this admittedly low wage because with all of my workers, even this adds up! If I want to make a profit, I have to keep this wage as it is, especially with the Water-Frame becoming more and more popular every day. The larger the demand on my product, the more labor I need to meet that demand. Two thirds of my 1,900 workers are children, and without them, my business would surely fail. The children who work in my factories get paid the money that helps to keep their families in their homes, and they give me the labor I need to keep my business going. Child labor is not only acceptable, but a necessary thing to allow.

Video Games: The High Tech Threat To Our Younger Generation Essay

Video Games: The High Tech Threat to Our Younger Generation Anyone who has ever walked through a shopping mall on a weekend knows how popular videogame arcades have become with our young people. It is becoming a force in the lives of millions of kids all across America. Parents and teachers become more concerned and worried when they see their kids devoted to videogames. They are highly concentrated because vidiogames greatly influence the mental and learning processes of the younger generation. Many parents believe that their children learn values more from the mass media rather than their from homes. Generally speaking, the video and computer game industry has been a growing concern to the religious groups, responsible politicians and bewildered parents for the disturbing contents and the substandard themes in some of its games. The videogame technology must be recognised for its role and influence on the younger generation because, for better or worse, it clearly affects their academic and social life. Indeed, statistics are really alarming on the videogame industry. It is a multi-million dollar business growing at 40 per cent a year from 1987 to 1993 (Palmeri 102). Tetzeli in his article "Videogames: Serious Fun" compares videogames $ 6.5 billion--a--year business to the Hollywood film industry (110). He continues to point out that two Japan based conglomerate have put about 64 million videogame machines in US households in total. In addition to that they also produced and licenced for all their softwares for their machines (110). Palmery estimates to produce and market a ful featured videogame it would costs up to $10 million (102). Because of the cost producers attempt to make a return on their investments and earn as much profits as they can. To achieve their goals, they feature more blood, gore and human dismemberment in their games to appeal to the younger generation because violence sells. According to Palmery the game Mortal Kombat has sold a record 5 million copies for about$65 apiece.(102) The advanced technology in upcoming videogame machines even allows the players to interact with screen images in ways never before possible. Analysts in this field say that it is only a prelude to the emerging world-wide network popularly known as the electro... ...which would require the stores to place signs on shelves in stating : "Warning. Think before you buy. This is a war toy. Playing with it increases anger and violence in children. Is this what you really want for your child? (WAR TOYS). Which may not be very effective altogether to control the vidiegames with violent contend. But still the warning gives a chance and may be the parents pause a moment before they decide to buy any thing for their offspring. Voluntary rating system or any other form of self regulatory arrangement will only help to widen the loop holes of the existing system. By including this multi billion dollar industry under the existing film rating system or something similar to that would greatly reduce the risk of violence and ultimately would prevent the youths on turning for violent solution for all their problems. And also would help to form a violent free life style and prevent the younger generation and spend their quality time with their studies and parents. All other arrangements will, at least help us to further delay the process of controlling the emerging violent theme and content of the many thousands of videogames yet to be produced or released.

A Little Wiggle Room

Today we will be looking at two articles written by University of California Psychology Director Craig Haney.   He specializes in the assessment of institutional environments especially the psychological effects of incarceration.He has written several scholarly articles and is involved in many research projects mostly specializing in the effect of incarceration and overcrowding, making headway into the understanding of the effect an overtaxed system has on an individual.He looks at issues such as recidivism, prison violence, mental and emotional disorders and the long term effect of solitary or supermax facilities when inflicted on lower security inmates due to overpopulation.In these two articles entitled â€Å"The Wages of Prison Overcrowding† and â€Å"Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional Reactions† I believe Haney tries to not only explain the great toll that overcrowding has on an individual as well as the taxpayer, but offers solutions to ease out of the current trend spending more tax dollars converting facilities into sleeping quarters.â€Å"There is a clear association between the restriction of living space and the occurrence of disciplinary violations.† (Haney 2)   Haney goes on to point out the fact that when a prison is filled beyond its capacity, there is less of everything to go around, causing hoarding, violence and tension between prisoners.Prisoners are forced to do without basic necessities such as showers and toilets being forced to wait for availability increasing tension inside the facility.Guards are left unable to control the already agitated population caused when people who may already be lacking social skills necessary to function in everyday life are forced to live in close quarters with others.   The current solution most prisons call for is more staff, better armaments for the staff, and better punitive measures with which to control the inmates, making the prison more painful and h armful to the inmates.Areas normally reserved for recreational facilities make way for bed space with basic security contributing to inmate idleness and inactivity further worsening the problem.The prisoners are left with less to do and less outlets for releasing tension, the rates of prisoner animosity towards each other rises, as well as towards the guard’s.Facilities generally used to rehabilitate prisoners, such as education and prison work facilities are transformed into bed space, leaving prisoners with unfilled needs, adding to the problem of recidivism.He has shown that a majority of prisoners read at or below a third grade level calling them â€Å"marginally literate† (Haney 5) and points out they leave prison in very much the same condition.Unprepared and therefore unable to function as normal productive citizens with a lack of education and basic job skills, they return to their old ways and end up back inside the system in much the same condition they left prison in.  In his articles Haney attempts to inform not just his fellow scholars, but also the individual states and penal systems on the effects they are having on the people theYincarcerate.How being pushed through a system too overworked to notice a prisoner with special needs such as mental of emotional disabilities can have a serious effect on the people they are forced to live in close quarters with.   This eventually leads to a breakdown of the prisoner moral, leading to dissention, and prison violence.These articles are a great starting point for any discussion into prison life, recidivism, prison overcrowding or assessments on how tax dollars should be spent.   I share the author’s belief that if nothing is done and eventual breakdown of the prison system is inevitable.He points out that the current solution, bringing in more weapons and more brutal tactics by guards can have an even worse effect on the individual prisoner, causing low risk inmates into recidi vism.   Tactics that enforce order and control over inmates rather than improving living conditions often worsen violence inside prison walls.Rather than deal with the issues that caused the potential violence in the first place they fight fire with fire.  Ã‚   While (overcrowding) â€Å"is not the only cause of the sometimes dangerous conditions and potential for abuse that exists in many of our nation’s prisons, it is a central and critical issue that must be effectively addressed if these other problems are to be solved.† (Haney 12)SourcesHaney, Craig. â€Å"Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reactions.† prisoncommission.org. 2 Nov 2008. Commission of Safety and Abuse inAmericas Prisons. 3 Feb. 2009 Haney, Craig. â€Å"The Wages of Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Psychological  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequences and Dysfunctional Correctional Reactions.† http://law.wustl.edu/. 5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dec. 2008. Washington U niversity Law School. 3 Feb. 2009.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Eye Witness Testimony Essay

â€Å"Eyewitness testimony is so unreliable that it should never be used in convicting criminals†. Eyewitness testimony is a legal term. It refers to; an account given by person(s) of an event they’ve witnessed. Eyewitness testimony is admissible in a court of law to assist in the conviction of individuals. In 1976, the Devlin report examined over 2000 identity parades in the U. K. Of the 2000 parades, 45% resulted in a suspect being identified and out of these, 82% were eventually convicted of a crime. In over 300 cases, the eyewitness testimony was the sole â€Å"evidence† used in conviction. 4% of these 300 cases resulted in criminal convictions. The significance of eyewitness testimony was highlighted in this report and resulted in much more research being undertaken. Cohen describes â€Å"erroneous eyewitness testimony† as being the â€Å"leading cause of wrongful conviction†. The multi store /Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model was first recognised in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin. The model attempts to identify the process that a stimulus must go through to become a retrievable memory. After being criticised for its supposed simplicity, Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed the working memory model. Both of these models propose that memory is a complex phenomenon that must go through numerous stages to become an accurately recalled memory. It is this process that offers explanation into the complexity of memory and the many areas that may result in memory confabulation. The Psychology of Rumour study by Allport & postman’s (examined latter) also alludes to memory being more complex than previously thought and strengthens the theory that memory is a process as opposed to a simplistic film. Sir Frederic Bartlett, (1932) introduced the theory of â€Å"Reconstructive memory† & â€Å"schemas† to Psychology. Schemas where defined by Mike Cardwell as; â€Å"packages of information† or â€Å"unconscious mental structures†. These mental structures are acquired through our experiences, or as a result of our expectations and cultural norms. Bartlett proposed that people use schemas constantly to complete tasks and to assist in making sense of our surroundings. The theory of schemas also suggests that there are gaps in a person’s memory that are filled with confabulated information when reconstructed. Sir Bartlett (1973) devised an experiment to investigate the effects of schemas on people’s memories. Twenty participants read a story called; â€Å"The War of the Ghosts†. The story was culturally different western literature, and was difficult for them to comprehend. After some time, the participants were asked to repeatedly recall the story in as much detail as possible. After recalling the same story six times, once even a year later, participants accidentally shortened the story from 330 words to an average of 180. Participants also altered parts of it to better suit their westernized culture. A conclusion of this experiment is that Memory recall is influenced by our schemas of cultural background and pre-existing knowledge. The experiment has been criticised for a lack of objectivity, being lax on variable control and casual conditions. However, the experimenter’s findings were also strengthened by Cromberg et al whom in 1996 interviewed people one year after plane crash. Of the 193 questioned, 55% falsely said that they had seen the plane hit the building and 59% inaccurately reported that a fire had started immediately on impact. Allport and Postman (1947) conducted a study titled: â€Å"Psychology of Rumour† with participants who were all white. They were shown a picture of an argument between a black man and a white man on a train. The white man is holding a razor and threatening the black man aggressively. The participants were divided into groups of seven. One participant from each group was shown the picture and asked to describe it to the second participant, who described it to the third, and so forth. Over half the participants who received the final description reported that the black man, not the white was holding the razor. This was false and shows that memory is susceptible to alteration by our own biases and prejudices within society. This experiment has been at the forefront of the interface between law and psychology. The findings have been repeatedly relayed in courts of law to express the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. However, inaccurate accounts of the procedures and implications of the study have been substantially misunderstood and distorted. Language is very important in eyewitness testimony; the way that memory is retrieved from a witness strongly affects what that person recalls. Loftus proposed that witnesses could accept false information which would dramatically affect the reliability of their testimony. This is called: â€Å"misinformation acceptance† and May happen in a post event situation such as being interviewed. Loftus believed some interviews contained â€Å"leading questions†. A leading question is defined as a question that is phrased in a way as to influence or prompt a specific form of answer. To test weather leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony, Loftus and palmer (1974) conducted the: â€Å"Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction† experiment. Forty five American students were split into 5 subgroups. After being shown various car collisions on slides that were dependant variables for each group, Participants were instructed to answer questions on what they had witnessed. The groups where asked to estimate the speed of the cars before they either: â€Å"hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted†. Each subgroup was asked the same question but with different verbs (the independent variable. ) A week later participants were also asked questions such as; â€Å"Did you see any broken glass? † when none such existed. The findings of this experiment were that the verb used to describe the collision affected the participants speed estimate given. The Biasing questions which they answered systematically affected the participant’s memory of the accident. The participants in the â€Å"smashed† condition reported the highest speeds, followed by â€Å"collided†, â€Å"bumped†, â€Å"hit†, and â€Å"contacted† in descending order. The â€Å"smashed† group also had more participants reporting to have seen glass when there was none. This experiment shows that memory is easily distorted by questioning techniques and information can be accepted post event causing confabulated memory. Strengths of this experiment are that it was conducted within a controlled environment and has serious implications for interviewing witnesses. However there is weakness’s to the experiment such all participants were students and not a wide range of people. Also, the collisions where viewed on video not in real life. Videos may lack the emotional impact caused when witnessing a real-life accident Loftus et al (1978) proposed that emotion can affect memory. Loftus stated that emotional arousal during an event can lead to a reduction in accurate memory recall. Loftus et al conducted an experiment of the effect of emotion on memory by showing two films of an armed robbery to participants. One film was violent, the other was nonviolent. They then tested the participant’s memories for details of what they had witnessed. The findings showed that the high-arousal version of a young boy being shot and falling to the floor, led to impaired memory recall. This was when compared to the low-arousal version. These findings show that emotions can affect memory. This experiment is lab based and findings may be difficult to transfer into real-life environment. However, being conducted in a controlled environment gives it enhanced ecological validity. Peters (1988) supported Yerkes & Dodson that illustrated an optimum level of emotional arousal enhanced memory. Peters found that when receiving inoculations in a clinic (an anxiety generating event) patients found it difficult in accurately identifying the nurse who issued their jab. One can conclude that this was due to the high levels of arousal surrounding the participant during the time of the jab. There is conflicting evidence weather emotions strengthen or weaken the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies. However, both theories support the idea that emotion has an effect on memory. Eastbrook (1959) proposed that arousal narrows the focus of attention. This causes improved memory for central details but impaired memory for peripheral details. Another factor that affects the reliability of eyewitness testimony while witnessing an event is the: â€Å"weapons focus affect†. Weapon focus refers to the concentration of attention on a weapon by the witnesses of a crime. Loftus et al claimed that this diverted their attention and resulted in a reduction of remembering many other details of the crime or criminal. Loftus (1979) conducted an experiment to study whether the presence of a weapon in an emotionally heightened state could affect eyewitness memory. Participants believed they were waiting to participate in a memory study and were waiting outside a laboratory. As they waited, participants in â€Å"condition 1† overheard a staged yet civil conversation coming from a room regarding equipment failure. A man then exited the room with a greasy hand holding a pen. Condition 2 participants were also privy to a staged conversation from an unseen room. This conversation was â€Å"hostile† and was accompanied by the sound of breaking class and broken furniture. A man then exited the room holding a blood covered knife. Participants were asked to identify the men they saw from fifty photographs. Condition one participants accurately identified the man 49% of the time. However, condition two participants were able to accurately identify the man only 33% of the time. From these results, Loftus concluded that presence of a weapon and a hostile confrontation affected witness’s ability to identify the individual. They were unable to focus attention on the man because more attention was concentrated on the weapon. This study is important in demonstrating the impact a weapon has on the reliability of eyewitness’s testimony. However, there have been many criticisms of these experiments. No distinction is made as to whether the hostile experience affected participant’s memories or simply the weapon. There are also huge concerns over the ethics of this experiment, participants could have been psychologically damaged by the experience and were unable to withdraw from it as they were unaware it had already begun. This experiment was conducted under controlled conditions within a controlled environment; this strengthens the information obtained by increasing the ecological validity of the experiment. The findings are less transferable to real life situations. Chrstianson & Hubinette (1993) demonstrated that in real life settings, memory can be accurate with acute stress. Eyewitness testimony is heavily dependent upon face recognition, and so the study of this subject has acute implications in understanding how reliable memories of faces are. Research shows that people have difficulty accurately recognizing individual members of a different race. One explanation for this is that we use specific features to distinguish between members of our own race and those features are not always present between other races. In a study done by Platz and Hosch, (1986) convenience store clerks were asked to identify three customers: one white, one black, and one Mexican American, all of whom stopped in the store earlier that day. The results of the study showed that each of the clerks identified customers belonging to their own race accurately, but when attempting to identify members of the other races, they stated â€Å"they all look alike. † Cross-Race Identification Bias demonstrates how prone people are to making false identifications when asked to identity people from a different racial or ethnic background other than their own. This research offers some support to the existence of cross-race identification bias. However the experiment has many weaknesses; the participants may have seen many people that day and it’s unclear whether they were briefed prior to the experiment. This experiment has enhanced ecological validity because it is set in one environment. There are many independent variables within this research that if altered, may dramatically distort the previous findings. Fisher and Geiselman (1992) developed the cognitive interview† This is a specialised interviewing technique designed to increase the accuracy of information given and minimise false testimony. The interviewer attempts to eradicate all verbal & nonverbal responses that may affect the witness’s testimony. This is to avoid the â€Å"Clever Hans† effect where a witness’s may pick up cues. There are four basic principles of the cognitive interview; firstly to report everything; all details of an event, i ncluding information deemed irrelevant. Mental reinstatement of original context is another; the interviewee mentally recreates the incident fully. The interviewer may also change the timeline of events by reversing the events in order. Finally, the interviewee is instructed to imagine how other witnesses saw the incident. A meta-analysis found in 53 cases, an average increase of 34% in correct event recognition compared to a non-cognitive interview. However this was conducted within a laboratory not a real-life setting. Mine & Bull (2002) decided to test each of the four cognitive principles separately. Participants were interviewed with one cognitive principal as compared to the four. Recall of accurate information was broadly similar to other participants in a control group who were informed to â€Å"try again†. However, when participants were interviewed using a combination of the cognitive principles their components were significantly higher. Extremely young and old people tend to have an increased susceptibility to suggestion (Ceci & Bruck, 1993; Cohen & Faulkner, 1989) as well as those whom score high on measures of dissociation. It is clear that eyewitness testimony is not as reliable as a means of conviction as generally thought due to many various factors. There is however many improvements and safe guards that can be utilized to improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony such as; performing cognitive interviews and using multiple testimonies. Key factors such as: age, race, and the emotional stimulus of an event should be taken into account. Eyewitness testimony is a vital tool in convicting criminals but may not be accurate enough as a sole means of conviction.

John Edgar Hoover essays

John Edgar Hoover essays Born on New Years Day in 1895 in Washington, D.C., to Dickerson Naylor Hoover and Annie Marie Scheitlin Hoover, John Edgar Hoover was destined to be one of the most powerful men in the world, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is remembered for fighting gangsterism during the Prohibition era (1919-1933) and for a vigorous anti-Communist campaign after World War II. He received an LL.B. from George Washington University and a masters degree in law in 1917. While he was attending night school there, Hoover worked at the Library of Congress for five years. After rising from the position of messenger to clerk, he left the Library of Congress and began work with the Department of Justice in 1919 and stayed there for two years as special assistant to the Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. As Palmers assistant, Hoover directed the Palmer Raids against suspected radical communist aliens. When he was thirty years old, perhaps younger, he earned the title of Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He held the appointment through eight presidents until 1972 when he died. When Hoover joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were around six hundred and fifty employees, including 441 Special Agents. Upon arrival, he proceeded to fire all of the Agents that he considered unqualified and professionalize the organization. Hoover also abolished the seniority rule of promotion and introduced uniform performance appraisals. Regular inspections of Headquarters and field office operations were scheduled. New Agents had to be between twenty-five and thirty-five years old. Then, in January of 1928, Hoover established a formal training course for new Agents. He also returned to the earlier preference for Special Agents with law or accounting experience. He also realized that the Federal Bureau of Investigation could not fight crime without the help of the public. In 1925, he wrote to the Attorney Gener...

Smoke-free campus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Smoke-free campus - Essay Example dures outlined in a handbook, cigarette smoke was hazardous to the environment and a health risk, which called for an attempt to make the university a tobacco-free area (The University of Texas at San Antonio web). The attempt by the administration to make the university a tobacco-free zone was promoted by the health risks associated with tobacco product. The association of medical associates in the campus on cancer came up with the proposal regarding cancer reduction caused by tobacco smoking. The administration faculty in the institution recommended that a transition campaign for one year aimed at banning smoking behavior to be conducted. The decision was highly supported by the president Ricardo Romo, and the campus committee responsible for management operations. The transition-period approach was supported by researches from other universities since it facilitates cultural and behavior change. Drug use restriction started on June 1st, 2013 and included all the staffs, non-staffs and all the visitors who were visiting the school. The initial step on the transition period that started from 1st June, 2013 to 31st May, 2014 was to define the products which were associated with tobacco required that use of tobacco and its products to be restricted in the main campus and the sub-branches campuses. A responsibility was bestowed to all units in the university responsible for organizing events to always ensure that the participants in the events complied with the laid down regulations. In addition, a transition group to enforce the campaign had a duty to educate the community around the institutions on the negative effects of consuming tobacco related products. New students and staffs who were to be enrolled in the university were to be made aware of the existence of the tobacco-free policy during their first steps of enrollment and their duty to abide with the rules. Individuals outside the institution were informed of the policy through digital messaging, use of

Mexican Americans in World war I and World war II Research Paper

Mexican Americans in World war I and World war II - Research Paper Example Introduction United Sates of America is an amazing blend of different cultures. The demographic profile is very diverse having multi-cultural and multi-lingual identities. These identities generally include Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian, Black or African Americans and other Pacific Islanders. In United States, Mexican Americans basically involve those inhabitants living in America having Mexican Descent. This ethnic group makes up 16.3% of the total population of United States in 2010. Mexican Americans include 66% Hispanic and Latinos as well. United States is considered the second largest home for this community. A great portion of this community also resides in Canada. In 2008 there were about 7 million Mexican Americans who were undocumented but living in United States. Most of these people are the successors of native Mexicans. Some also belong to Europeans especially the Spaniards. The history of this ethnic group is wide ranging. It is round about four hundred years old. The history varies from one region to another. In the early 1900, there were so many Hispanics residing in New Mexico, Texas and California. Most of them were the successors of native Mexican, European and Spanish settlers. These settlers arrived to this region during Spanish colonial periods. So, the lineage of Mexican Americans can be traced back to early settlers of the colonial periods. History of Mexican Americans’ Contribution to US Cause It is the history of Mexican Americans that they always served United States especially in war conditions. When we look at history, we can observe that in 1861 when civil conflicts erupted in America, the Mexican Americans predominantly those situated in Texas at that time served directly or indirectly for the betterment of US. They also worked and participated voluntarily in Union Army and several other units. 10,000 personnel also served in the regular army. This ethnic group always showed extraordinary commitment and horsemanship. To facilitate their efforts, the US government had also set up four companies to utilize maximum from their services. Medal of Honors were also established by the government to facilitate those who risk their lives for their country. Hispanic and Mexican Americans received these honors for their commendable services in Civil War. Till 1898, the two previously mentioned ethnic groups scattered across the country as regular army officers and created a small, yet professional composition of personnel. Mexican Americans: Great Contributors to America’s Defense History reveals the truth that there were several Mexican Americans who served in First and Second World War with great devotion. Not only men but women also participated equally. Many men and women served in armed forces with their maximum possible dedication and loyalty. John P. Schmal writes about the publication of Defense Department. This publication declared â€Å"when our country has been in need, Hispanic Americans have had more than their share of stouthearted, indomitable men. Their intrepid actions have been in the highest tradition- a credit to themselves, their ancestry, and our nation.† So, Mexican Americans were the people who had greatly risked their lives to save and combat United States. While talking about American men during World War II, Richard Santillan mentioned that Mexican American clearly distinguished during combats for United States. They were so devoted and loyal to the