School Bullying Essay Example for Free

School Bullying Essay Bullying in schools is a very big problem all around the world. There are many reasons why bullying causes such a huge impact on society. There are three types of bullying: physical, verbal, and emotional. All of these types can have minor to very major impacts on a person, which can lead to very damaging affects on their mental health and wellbeing. People need to be informed about this so that they will stop before they can change someones life for the worst. Physical bullying is essential unwanted physical contact through abusing a victim. This can be through kicking, punching, shoving, and more. Most bullies target people who are smaller than them, because they think that they can take advantage of them. This makes it easier for them to boost their ego and make themselves feel stronger. Many bullies turn to physical bullying, because it is a very easy thing to do as long as they are strong enough. People use physical bullying, and other forms of bullying, when they have low self-confidence in themselves. Many victims have turned to suicide, or have even died because of physical bullying. Verbal bullying are slanderous accusations and statements targeted at victims, in an attempt to bring them down and make them feel bad. This can come in many forms, such as foul language, tormenting, and harassment. There is an endless amount of things that bullies can use to fuel their verbal harassment. This form of bullying is also relatively easy because the bullies themselves dont have to be physically strong; they simply need to use their mouths to convey a hurtful message. Emotional bullying can be any form of bullying, which involves causing damage to a victims well-being and emotions. Bullies can achieve this through spreading terrible rumors, and getting people to gang up on victims. Ganging up on people specifically can be very damaging, because it makes the victim feel very small and insignificant compared to all the assailants in this sinister act. Emotional bullying, along with most other forms of bullying, can lead to minor or major levels of depression, depending on the severity  of the malicious acts taking place on the victim. People may say that kids will be kids, and ignore the serious issues associated with bullying. However, if these people would pay more attention to the news, than they would see the negative affects are very real and often have very sad results. Recently, a girl by the name of Amanda Todd from British Columbia took her own life because of persistent and harsh bullying. Many other people around the world have also unfortunately ended their lives early because of bullying. Victims of bullying around the world are suffering every day. Sure, once in a while, a nasty word here and there might not lead to any severe consequences, however, it is very possible and it is a very real issue. Even though it is impossible to stop all bullying, it helps to inform people on what can happen if they persistently bully one particular person. If society starts to see and realize how severe these affects can be, hopefully then we will see a smaller amount of deaths and depression related to bullying through physical, verbal, and emotional means. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. School Bullying. _Wikipedia_. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. . 2. News, CBC. Amanda Todds Alleged Tormentor Named by Hacker Group British Columbia CBC News. _CBCnews_. CBC/Radio Canada, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .

Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt

Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt The rapid increase in technology, economic downturn and globalization has led the businesses to reflect about their organizational goals and policies. It is of imperative importance that an organization knows where it is heading. Businesses may have cutting-edge technology, large customer base and skillful employees which are an asset for any organization but it would all fall behind if that organization does not have a clear and concrete understanding of what it is trying to achieve in the long-run. It is the vision and goals of the company that direct its people to work for a purpose and is fundamental to the success of a company. Visions help to define the working practices, relationships, procedures and strategies for production which is turn determines the magnitude of progress of the organization. Theodore Levitt, in his article Marketing Myopia, compels the readers to understand the importance of effectively set visions which are a catalyst for the companys success. Most of the industries focus largely on their refined product and become victims of downfall in the long-run. They do not realize the cause of their diminishing growth because to them their strategies in product development and product enhancement are top-notch. They tend to blame external factors which might have contributed to their downfall but they fail to see the bigger picture underneath: their goals and visions did not focus on consumer preferences and needs. Theodore Levitt explains this phenomenon by the carefully penned term Marketing Myopia which refers to the short-sighted visions by the top-management that is focused on enhancing products rather than assessing customer needs. Levitt explains the downfall of railroads stating that the industry was defined incorrectly. The management should have seen railroads as a transportation means rather than just railroad industry. The stagnation of this industry thus was because of incorrectly defined vision. According to Theodore Levitt, there are no growth industries. He believes that in todays times there could be many substitutes for any number of products and the companys which focus on capitalizing their growth opportunities fall into a shadow of obsolescence. They fail to see the prospects of substitute industries which could wipe-out their businesses. For example, the silk industry in Europe has been thoroughly diminished because of introduction of viscose rayon as it costs less and has the ability to replace silk. In short, Levitt tells us that the companies are doomed to fail if their visions and purpose is obscure. In order to succeed, organizations should have crystal-clear goals that focus on the customer needs and preferences rather than on the product. This paper will discuss some of the pros of the article Marketing Myopia and some criticisms about the same along with examples. HIGHLIGHTING THE STRONG POINTS: Theodore Levitt emphasized that the organizations which are working on the belief that their products are unique; are growth opportunities for them and would continue to give them success, do not realize that their dependence on such belief could be their downfall. He describes this view in these lines: Industries that assume themselves to be riding some automatic growth escalator invariably descend into stagnation. The history of every dead and dying growth industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay. He further gives four strong points arguing why these industries slow down in their growth conquest. 1. The belief that growth is assured by an expanding and more affluent population. 2. The belief that there is no competitive substitution for the industrys major product. 3. Too much faith in mass production and in the advantages of rapidly declining unit costs as output rises. 4. Preoccupation with a product that lends itself to carefully controlled scientific experimentation, improvement, and manufacturing cost reduction. I would be discussing these strong points here with the help of examples. 1. Population Myth: Theodore Levitt rightly argues that when the market for the product is growing the management tends to stop thinking about the future assuming that the growing market is the indication of future success. The management then focuses on expanding its production rather than thinking about marketing. The main focus of their concerns becomes selling which stems from the needs of the seller instead off the needs of the consumer. The management tends to ignore the changing trends and needs of the customer which leads the company to their doom. Iridium, which once was a high-flying organization on Wall Street, got the biggest failure in the market. Iridium introduced satellite phones in late 1990s that could work anywhere in the world. It was a brilliant idea which was flopped within a year pushing the company towards bankruptcy and leading the CEO to resign. The company invested billions of dollars in this project which backfired because the focus of their initiative was not the consumer. They assumed that the growing advancement in information technology and the larger customer base for mobile phones would be enough to build an expensive project on. They did not take marketing efforts seriously and failed to realize ahead of time that the consumers were not willing to pay high prices for their product and they did not take note of the fact that the cellular phones could become popular during that same time period. The market for satellite phones was not tested before launching the phones which did not get the success hope d by the management. 2. No Competitive Substitution Myth: The second argument by Theodore Levitt, the belief that there is no competitive substitution for the industrys major product, could easily bring about the downfall for the organization. When the management tends to have faith in the fact that their offerings are indispensable, they stop thinking about the future. They focus on producing that indispensable product and do not take into consideration the changing environment and the threats of possible entrants or substitute products. This belief takes the organization into stagnation. In this age, mobile phones have more or less replaced the fixed connections. The competition is between the landline services and the mobile phone companies. Now multiple wireless access technologies are also in the fast race with the GSM technologies. 3. Faith in Mass Production: Declining unit costs as production rises is a very attractive incentive for producers. They tend to focus on the production and costs rather than focusing on the marketing and consumer preferences. Once they have mass produced their products, they are inclined towards selling it instead of marketing it which becomes the reason for their downfall. As time changes, the consumer preferences change as well. . It is a known phenomenon that people and their behaviors have to change with the changing environment they live in. With todays changing milieu, an individual must be willing to abandon old techniques and learn new ones. Henry Ford, developer of assembly-line technique for mass production, introduced Model T automobile and revolutionized the transportation business. He started producing Model in large quantities. It was a success initially and was hailed as the everywhere. As time changed, the consumers started thinking in terms of benefits and value they get from the Model T car. They demanded more features especially color options. Ford replied saying, Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black; it was because black color used to take less time in drying. After some time, the production of Model T stopped as consumer wants changed and the industry got competitive. It is important for the organizations to take in view the changing trends and consumer wants. The industries in todays age are highly competitive and uncertain. Thus to avoid stagnation, marketing should be given specific importance. 4. Preoccupation with Scientific Research and Development Techniques: Theodore Levitt says in the article, The greatest danger which faces the glamorous new companies in this field is not that they do not pay enough attention to research and development, but that they pay too much attention to it. It is true that most technological firms tend to focus their efforts towards scientific implementations and research and development which raises their cost and increases their chances of failure if the innovations are not receptive to the consumers. Nokia, a world-leading organization in cell-phone industry, is fighting a battle with Apple Inc. for the market share of smartphones. The recent milestone in the cell-phone industry is the application feature. Apple has the largest market share in smartphone segments while Nokia is spending millions of dollars for R and D in this area yet its sales are diminishing. The software Nokia uses is failing which is the reason for continuous scientific research in this regard. According to Bloomberg.com, Nokias share of worldwide smartphone sales fell to 41.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from 45.1 percent in the year- earlier period, while Apples doubled to 10.8 percent. EXAMPLE OF MARKETING MYOPIA: Marketing Myopia does exist in almost all the industries where the top management fails to see the bigger picture. When the organizations take profit-making approach or mass production techniques, they tend to lose sight of the customers who can change the fate of any organization. Theodore Levitt gave us illustrations about myopic industries though most of his discussion was based on the railroad dilemma or the oil industry. Marketing Myopia, however, could be found in any organization. An example taken from Ivey Business Journal is presented here which discusses the downfall of PG owned coffee roasting company, Splendid, and the rise of Starbucks. For several decades Procter Gamble owned Splendid, an Italian coffee roasting company and a leading brand in the Italian take-home coffee market. Through Splendid, PG had access to a powerful reservoir of knowledge about the production, distribution and marketing of authentic, Italian espresso coffee, and to powerful insights on the consumer experience of enjoying an espresso or a cappuccino in an Italian coffee bar. But it viewed the potential of this knowledge narrowly: as a way to adapt the famous PG brand building and product management skills to the Italian market a peculiar place where people drank thick, dark coffee in preference to the traditional American brew. PGs myopic view of competition both in Italy and, back home, in the U.S.- and its failure to engage with the world as a source of innovation, left the way open for Starbucks, a minute coffee roasting company from Seattle. In the mid-eighties, Starbucks CEO spent some time in Italy and studied the technology and consumer behavior in the Italian coffee market knowledge that PG had already in-house at Splendid for ages. He then combined what he learnt in Italy with world-class retailing and fast-food management techniques perfected in the United States. To the recipe, he added his understanding of American consumers and New York financial market to craft Starbucks strategy. The results are now legendary. What made the success of Starbucks was not an innovative coffee blend but rather an innovative knowledge blend. The amazing thing is that PG had privileged access to all the components of the recipe, though some components were in other countries (Italy, for starters) or in other industries (for example, fast-food). But myopia was surely limiting and hurting PG, as it couldnt see much beyond its existing markets across the street. Eventually, in 1992, PG sold Splendid to Philip Morris Kraft General Foods. HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEMS OF MARKETING MYOPIA: Considering the fact that what Theodore Levitt said in his article Marketing Myopia was completely flawless would be ambiguous. Like every theory, Marketing Myopia also has its negative points. Railroad and Movie Industry: Theodore Levitt has explained the concept of marketing myopia with the help of the examples of railroads and Hollywood industry. He has pointed out that the failure of railroads was not due to the introduction of other transportation facilities availability rather the incapability of the management in defining the purpose of railroad industry as just railroad-oriented instead of a transportation-oriented. If they had identified themselves as transportation-oriented, they would have been able to see the market conditions more clearly and hence be prepared for any threats coming their way. Levitt has also explained about the Hollywood business in the same context: that they failed to define their purpose as entertainment-oriented and stuck with their myopic view of Hollywood as movie-making business which led to its near collapse because they did not treat TV as an opportunity. This led to their self-deceiving belief and TV became their threat and a much bigger industry. In 1990, David J. Morris Jr. of University of New Haven, published an article in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Services. He explained that the reason railroads came to their demise and the fiscal purgatory of Hollywood industry was not because they were myopic. He explained that their failure was due to the Government regulations that did not give them the chance for expansion even though they tried. In his article, he has stated that the US Government Regulatory body shifted to trucks, auto and air after World War II because of which the railroads got left behind. In his view, the railroads tried to expand into related transportation areas but the railroads suffered because of 70 years of government destruction. Morris has also explained that the Hollywood industry took steps to acquire television stations but the Federal Communications Commission denied this request to Paramount Pictures Inc. The movie industry also became a supplier to the television industry as the motion pictures were in colored and the television was still in black and white. Some motion picture producers also rented out studio space to television. The problems in movie industry thus were not because they were myopic rather because of antitrust policies and Government regulations. It is true that most managements fail to see the bigger picture while trying to focus on their product and define their purpose obscurely and finally getting caught up in myopia but the history of railroads and Hollywood industry show that they were not myopic rather victims of Government regulations. Stakeholders: Theodore Levitt stresses upon the need to focus on the customers and their preferences. In his article, he has emphasized the role of marketing repeatedly saying that the success of the firm in inevitable if the market has been thoroughly researched and the visions and goals of the company are defined on the basis of the marketing efforts. But he does not explain about the role and need of the stakeholders of the organization who also play a big part in the future of the organization. An organization may have an excellent product, well-defined market segment and a considerable market share and yet it could all fail if there are any problems in the workforce, distributors or suppliers. The focus should be the customer but the stakeholders should also be taken into consideration while defining the vision of any organization. Likewise, the marketers should also focus on the current environmental situations, environmentalists and legal regulations instead of just focusing on the customer. Leadership Issues: An organization could also fail if the leadership has no purpose for the organization. It is important to define the purpose in terms of market conditions but an organization should also have a purpose and a reason to exist; when it is lost the organization would fail even if their product and customer base is strong. Theodore Levitt has stated that in order to succeed in future an organization must have customer-oriented goals but the management should also have a vision to lead so that it could fulfill the purpose of those customer-oriented goals. For example, before 1984, ATT had a purpose and a reason to survive. The organization had talented employees and excellent services. The company started failing due to changing technologies and shifting regulations. Michael Armstrong was hired as the CEO with the hope that he would prevent ATT from failing. That unfortunately did not happen because the vision of the CEO to lead was hazy. He started laying-off employees and losing acquisitions and cost-cutting strategies which backfired. The reason was simple: Michael Armstrong did not have a clear understanding of how to lead and could not therefore manage the customer-oriented visions. CONCLUSION: Information in todays time has become more liquid and accessible. The organizations which want to grow in this world need to recognize the need for knowledge about the changing trends, technologies and customer preferences. Marketing Myopia as defined by Theodore Levitt could teach a lot of organizations the importance of clearly defined purposes and customer value. The organizations need to look around them to the changing environment-not only local changes rather a birds-eye view of the world around them. If the top management fails to see the local and global implications of the changing trends and decides to just focus their attention to their product then they are bound to get caught in myopia. This age is not one for an isolated entity. It is also of great significance that the top management analyzes the over-all impact of their strategies with the view to the market and start to think imaginatively. In the recent years, the understanding of marketplace trends and its competitive implications has led the organizations to change their strategies and policies. The competitive pressures influence the businesses to act speedily and innovate productively. The only profit-making approach towards busine ss does not hold true in these times because a single idea, a new product or even a new use of an existing idea can change the marketplace rapidly. The organizations have to continuously evolve and innovate in order to stay in this cut-throat competitive environment. If the management fails to do this, them the organization is bound to be caught up in the self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay.

Programs to rehabilitate young offenders

Programs to rehabilitate young offenders The intent of this dissertation is to explore the current shaping of the youth justice system and also to explore the programs that are in place to help rehabilitate young offenders who have been placed in young offender institutes. This research will discuss and examine the effectiveness of these programs put in place for young people who are in custody to help prevent them from re-offending once they are in the community. In 2006 the number of prisoners under the age of 21 years in England and Wales stood at 11, 672 and 2,528 of those where children (juveniles). In the past decade or maybe more the number of children and young people entering the penal custody in England and Wales has increased very significantly. It is believed that at least 85 percent of juvenile prisoners are held in Young Offender Institutions (YOI). Young offender institutes are described as specialist penal facilities which are usually managed by the prison service. These institutions are designed for prisoners aged 15-20 years. In these institutions male juvenile prisoners these are from the ages of (15-17 years) are normally detained separately from young adult offenders those who are 18- 20 years old. There are some exceptions to this rule which can at times be applied to female juvenile prisoners (Goldson and Muncie 2006). In England and Wales there is a total of 17 young offender institutes and 13 of those establishments ar e for males and the remaining 4 are dedicated for females up to the age of 17 years (www.yjb.gov.uk ). There are so many explanations which come in to light when it comes to the rise of crime among young people. The aim of the writer is to explore and evaluate the true prevalence youth re-offending and the issues and risk factors that underpin the rehabilitation of people in custody and how effective the rehabilitation programs put in place for young people are. Firstly the literature review will consider relevant viewing the topic of the current model and thinking of the youth justice system. It will also begin by looking at the history of youth imprisonment. Chapter two will explore the programs in place for young people in custody geared towards their rehabilitation. Chapter three will describe and analyse the methodology used in acquiring data. In the fourth chapter the writer will evaluate the rehabilitative programs/the initiatives found in young offenders institutions. The writer will conclude by discussing and summarising the findings and making and future recommendations for future practice. PART TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW The main legislation governing the youth justice system is the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which sets out the systems primary aim which is to prevent offending and re-offending by children and young people. The 1998 Act developed the Youth Justice Board and also the Youth Offending Teams which can be found in every local authority in England and Wales. It is the belief that the main aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending and re-offending by young people and children (National Audit Office, 2010). It is said that they are four arguments which are put forward for the use of custodial sentencing for young people these are Rehabilitation, Deterrence, Incapacitation and Retribution. Bateman et al (2005) suggests that the argument for Rehabilitation is that the prison should be able to deal with the underlying problems in a way that offenders who remain in the community can not be dealt with. Deterrence it is claimed has both individual and general forms. It is suggested that the presence and use of custodial institutions will prevent young people from committing crimes that might send them to serve custodial sentences. According to the individual form it is expected that custody will discourage those who experience it from committing any more crime so they can avoid further incarceration. Incapacitation is an argument which proposes that if young people who offend are removed off the streets, then they can not offend and so youth crime will reduce. Retribution is an argument which is sometimes used as a rationale for the use of custody. The person who commits the crime is made to pay for the crime they committed. However it is the belief that there is little effect in punishment unless it changes a persons subsequent behaviour (Bateman et al, 2005). Exploring the legislative history of youth justice and the development of the youth justice practice from 1997 onwards. Until 1908 there was no separate court which dealt with young offenders. The children act 1908 was developed and this led to the creation of the juvenile courts, however these courts were presided over by the same magistrates who sat in the adult courts and their formation showed very little understanding of the reasons why children and young people commit crime and also that the needs of children and young people who stand before the courts may be different from those of adults (Dugmore et al, 2006). According to Dugmore et al (2006) it was stated that it could be argued that there was some confusion which arouse at the inception stage between the different approaches which needed to be used when dealing with those children and young people who had committed offences and also those who where just in need of care. The 1908 Childrens Act gave the court authority over both care and criminal issues. Due to the judicial body having control over both the depraved (criminals) and the deprived (children in care) this Act gave birth to the system paying more attention to the process of distinguishing between the different types of young people who came before the juvenile justice system and by difference we mean those young people who deserved to be punished and those young people in need of help and care. The next momentous piece of legislation is the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Goldson (2008) stated that: This Act aimed to strengthen certain enactments relating to young persons under the age 18 years in particular and The Children and young persons Act 1933 acted and revised measures relating to the protection of and employment of children generally and to criminal proceedings in particular. According to Dugmore (2006), the Act was passed as a result of the Maloney committee (Home office, 1927) which contained a blend of positivist and classicist explanations in children and young people. In this report, it was stated that law breaking was seen as a deliberate act of defiance, which had to be dealt with in the formality of the court and its Sanctions. However, it is recognised that delinquent behaviour may be caused by environmental and psychological factors that were beyond the young persons control. The 1933 Act played an important role in establishing what became known by many professionals such as social workers and others as the Welfare principle, however, Goldson (2008) suggests that much of this large and important legislation has since been transformed or discontinued. Even though this seems to be the case some of the sections of this 1933 legislation is still valuable and better still a majority it was very much still in use until recently. Section 44 of the Act is still regarded as very important for children and young people in court proceedings this is because it states in this section that the court shall have regard to the welfare of the child or young person who stands before it this principle also applies to the crown prosecution service and it is considered to be a weak principle compared to the paramouncy principle which is in 1989 Children Act. It was sated in this Act that the childs welfare must be the factor which determines the courts decision when it comes to the upbringing of a child (Goldson, 2008). Goldson (2008) stated that it was suggested that the duty to have regard means that consideration is provided with regards to the interests of the child or young person, the crown and youth magistrates courts can legally give precedence to other interests such as the need to prevent re-offending and to protect the public. However, this legislation stressed the need for the Juvenile courts to deal with children separately and whilst treating them differently. The Ingle by Report (1960) which is known as the report of the Home Office Departmental Committee on Children and Young persons was responded to by the Government through the introduction of a new piece of legislation which is the Children and Young persons Act 1963 and this legislation is mainly applicable to England and Wales. There are two provisions of this act and number one is concerned with the age of criminal responsibility meaning the minimum age of which a child may be charged with a criminal offence. In this report, it was recommended that age for criminal responsibility in both England and Wales should be raised from 8 to 12 years with the responsibility of a further rise to 13 to 14 at some time in the future. However the then Conservative government refused and by way of compromise increased the age of responsibility to 10. The Children and Young Persons Act 1969 according to Pickford (2006) is considered to be the most welfare orientated established with regards to the treatment of juvenile offenders. This Act was introduced by the Labour government which was in power at that time. It is stated that some of the more welfare orientated provisions of the Act such as the proposal to allow local authorities to deal with juvenile delinquents by using methods such as supervision, arranging care and raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. These proposals never came into force due to the incoming Conservative government which refused to implement these ideas, however during that same period in Scotland there was little opposition to the Welfare Model of youth justice as proposed by the Kilbrandon in Scotland (Home office, 1964) as cited in (Pickford, 2006). The 1969 Act granted the criminal court the power to pass a criminal sanction on a young person that in effect amounted to a welfare provision the criminal care order which was abolished in 1989. In this sentence both the deprive and the depraved became one and the welfare measure became a criminal sanction (Muncie, 2004). It is stated by Pickford et al (2006) that this legislation created greater powers of discretion for social work but did nothing to stem a rising flow of custodial disposals. Exploring the Current model of the youth justice policy and philosophy Many academics such as Fionda (2005) and stated that one case in 1993 known as the James Bulger case who was killed by two 10-year-old boys changed the opinion of the public and the direction of the youth justice policy in relation to young offenders. The belief is that the shock of the public which was largely fuelled by the media following the case led to a moral panic about how children and young people were breaking the law Cohen (1973). Some academics for example Jenks (1996) argued that the Bulger case led to the death of childhood innocence and the subsequent demonisation of youth. It is suggested that due to this realisation, children were no longer considered too pure and innocent they were now considered capable of the worst kind of evil ever imagined. The idea that children were born innocent and so need to be protected from a society that is corrupt was abandoned and society adopted the notion that children are born capable of evil and need to be controlled (Hendricks, 2002). Academics such as Brown (2005) have agreed that the medias portrayal of young offenders allegedly being treated softly by the juvenile justice system swung the political and publics opinion towards a period of getting tough on youth criminality. Public statistics suggest that the number of young offenders aged 10 to 17 found guilty r cautioned of an indictable offence fell by 30percent between 1987 and 1997. According to Nacro (1999) since 1987, the number of male juvenile offenders has fallen by 33% and female young offenders by 17%. Pickford (2006) highlighted that the frenzy about the problem of youth crime appears to make little sense when the statistical data for that period analysed. The number of young people receiving custodial sentences during that period rose, whilst the number of young offenders detained under sentence fell by approximately 50 per cent between 1980 and 1993. Statistics show that these figures then rose up by at least 56 per cent in the four years leading u p to 1997. Together with the hysteria caused by the media the rise in the figures worked well with the development of a definition called persistent offender over this era and also the getting tough policies which related to the individuals put in this category. In the run up to the 1997 electione political debate surrounding the general election promised a law and order agenda from all major parties. Labours promise was to get tough on crime as well as the causes of crime and this included youth crime. In this period the government in power (Labour Party) established a youth crime task force and the momentum for reform of the criminal justice continued. As a result of this reform seven consultation papers were released and five of those papers related directly to youth justice. These five consultation paper relating to youth justice where published by New Labour after its election to government in1997 setting out its proposals for reform (Pickford, 2006). The 1998 Act was passed as a result of those seven papers. The Act was passed by the New Labour government to provide a root and branch overhaul of the youth justice system, which was to be implemented over a number years following the establishment of and feedback from pilot schemes and pathway sites, which tested the ground of the new reforms (Goldson, 2008). Bateman et al (2005) stated that according to the then Homer secretary Jack Straw the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 represented one of the most radical shake up of youth justice in 30 years. The Criminal justice provisions promised victims of crime a voice in the outcome of criminal cases, while the new civil measures offered to empower middle England by handing it the legal and administrative means to re-establish order and civility in its communities. The entire system was to be vigorously managed at a local level to ensure that it all joined up and offered best value to the public. Section 37 of the 1998 Act emphasized the primary aim of prevent and it states that: It shall be the principal aim of the youth justice system to prevent offending by children and young people (Goldson, 2008). Under this section a duty is placed on all personnel working within the youth justice area to have regard to this very important aim while carrying out their duties. The Home office Juvenile Offenders Unit in order to deliver this principal aim set out a number of key objectives are: Encouragement of reparation. Reinforcement of parental responsibilities. Intervention into risk factors including family, social, personal and health factors. Tackling delays- halving how long it takes for young offenders to be passed from arrest to sentence from an average of 142 days in 1996 to a target of 71 days. Confronting the young offenders with the consequences of their offending and encouraging responsibility for actions. Introduction of a new range of penalties in order to enable those who enforce punishments to punish in proportion to the seriousness and persistence of offending. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 set out six key themes which would assist with achieving the objectives set out above. Section 41 of the act related to the national framework and it set up a framework for the national Youth Justice Boards operation this was aim at encouraging and monitoring nationwide consistency in the implementation of the system of youth justice whilst ensuring goods standards for good practice and good delivery of the service. Section 73 established a new detention and training order which was implemented in April 2000. This order is claimed to be a constructive and flexible custodial sentence with a clear focus on preventing re-offending behaviour. The order can be used by both youth and crown courts in respect of all young offenders under the age of 18years who have been found guilty of an offence that if committed by an adult would be an imprisonable offence. The sentence is split into two half is spent in detention and the other half under supervision is the community (Dugmore, 2006). Section 8 of the act created a parenting order made applicable to the parents of those convicted offenders under the Criminal Justice Act 1991. The new order combines requirements of parents to fit in with their individual situation. However the order may place specific responsibilities on a parent such as ensuring their child attends school everyday. Section 6 and 7 encourages the development of local partnerships to provide a method for identifying Crime and Disorder problems within a local framework in a particular area. Section 67 brought in the reparation order which was designed to help young people who offend to face up to the consequences of their offending behaviour. Section 69, 11, 14 and 65 all of these orders are to do with tackling offending behaviour and providing early intervention for young people (Dugmore, 2006). The Youth Justice Criminal Evidence Act 1999 which was amended by the Powers of The criminal Courts Act 2000 helped achieve the proposals of reform which were outlined in the 1997 White Paper No more excuses (Home Office, 1997d). It is said by Crawford et al (2003) that the act created what is known as a referral order which was compulsory and meant for young people convicted for the first time. With this referral order, a young person is referred to a youth offender panel (YOP) which consists of members of the local community and it is put together by youth offendings teams. This order can be served for periods of between 3 months to a year. Under this order, a contract is drawn up with the young offender and their parents specifying the details of the order. The contracts are made specifically to suit the needs of the young person involved. The referral order is also designed to address the young persons offending behaviour in order to help prevent them from re-offending. The order must include preparation and can at time involve community work, contact with the victim, mediation and participation in education programmes or individual activities. The belief is that once the order is completed, the young persons offence has been spent for the purpose of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Other significant legislative changes Fionda (2005) suggests that following the 1998 and 1999 Acts there has been no statute specifically addressing youth justice practice that has been passed, meaning that many of the reforms are still being considered to be fairly new by experienced youth justice practitioners. However there have been other statutes which have been passed which cover criminal justice and these have had impact on youth disorder and criminal justice procedures. Youth imprisonment within its current model and philosophy The writer Jewkes (2010) suggested that in contemporary Britain there has been an emergence of the adultified child and this is due to the high rate teenage pregnancies, children winning the right to divorce their parents, children being tried in adult courts and many more. It is argued that in England and Wales children are criminalized at a much earlier age and also they are more inclined to lock children up, compared to other countries such as Belgium, Austria, France and many others. It is claimed that in England and Wales twice as many children are put into custody (Goldson, 2003). According to jewkes (2010) one could claim that since the teenage rebellions of the 1980s and 1960s, the age at which young people may be designated folk devils has decreased. However since the beginning of 1990s there have been regular reports about the pre-teenage children committing very serious offences such as burglary, rape and many others (Jewkes, 2010). The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years which means anyone aged 10 and above can be held criminally responsible for their actions. Between 2000- 2010 provisional data showed that young people have committed 201,800 offences even though they make up only 11 percent of the population which is above the age of criminal responsibility. It is estimated that offending by all young people cost the economy 8.5 11 billion pounds in 2009 alone. The crimes most committed by young offenders and which they are commonly convicted of are theft and violence. However even though these young people havent been offending for a long time compared to adult offenders it has been noted that at least a third of those young offenders been previously been convicted, warned or reprimanded in relation to an offence (National Audit Office, 2010). It is claimed by the National Audit Office (2010) that they has been a 14 percent reduction in the number of young people held in custody over a duration of five years. Although at times in some cases the use custody is deemed necessary, it is the belief that custody is of limited effectiveness in reducing re-offending behaviour and is considered to be the most expensive sentencing option. It is said that Youth Justice Board is meeting its objective to reduce custody numbers partly through the use of other means which encourage caseworkers to recommend community sentences. CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY In order to gain further knowledge regarding youth offending rehabilitation and imprisonment of young people, the secondary data utilised for this work includes, reports, internet sources, papers, journal articles, textbooks and reports published by the Home Office, Nacro. There are a vast number of ways that data can be obtained. As suggested by Clifford and Gough (1990) when considering the data collection, method selected is compatible and appropriate to both the aims and the theoretical framework being used by the study. METHODS FOR DATA COLLECTION There are two major approaches to gather information these are secondary data and primary data. This study will use secondary data because it is readily available and it takes less time than using primary data. Primary research is very time consuming in terms of establishing samples, arranging and completing interviews, and the collecting and processing data. It is stated by Bryman (2008) that secondary data is the most common research method used by social science researchers today. According to Bryman (2008, p296) secondary data involves the processing of data that has already been collected by other parties or researchers. With this method of research, researchers will consult previous studies and findings such as books, reports, appropriate internet sources such as Youth Justice Board, Nacro, Her Majestys Inspectorate of Prisons, journals and many more. Academic books, journal articles and reports used throughout this dissertation, provided an excellent method of gathering secondary data from well established and respected authors for example Professor John Muncie, Tim Bateman and Professor Pitts. Literature suggests that most secondary data uses qualitative methods, so the research method used would be mainly qualitative. However, qualitative methods aim to study people in their natural social settings and to collect naturally occurring data. Qualitative describes in words rather than numbers. This is opposed to quantitative data which as the manipulation of numerical data through statistical procedures for the purpose of describing phenomena or assessing the magnitude and reliability of relationships among them (Bryman, 2008). Quantitative allows us to see when, where and which social conditions are most likely to create the situations in which young offenders find themselves which in turn encourage them to offend. Qualitative methods on the other hand, can help us develop an understanding of the complexities of young peoples behaviour attitudes and in the context of their experiences whilst in custody in preparation for when they are released back into the community. Qualitative method is for this current study because quantitative research is more concerned with collecting and analysis of data that focus on numbers and frequencies rather than on experience or meaning. In contrast to the research topic, qualitative method helps to develop an understanding of young peoples attitudes, experiences and feelings. As noted they are many reasons why young people re-offend and why custody is used as method of rehabilitation. Understanding these reasons will be a key target for researchers if we are to understand issues around custody, rehabilitation programmes and re-offending of young people in the future. ETHICAL ISSUES Ethical issues had to be taken into account, even though the writer did not use primary research in the study. There is a procedure which requires all participants of the research to give informed consent before conducting any research. Participants must be fully made aware of the nature and procedures of the research. The information given during interviews must remain confidential and not presented to those not directly involved in the study. The British Sociology of Criminologys guidelines on ethics for researchers have been consulted and no ethical issues were noted in relation to the nature of this secondary research project. CHAPTER THREE: OFFENDING BEHAVOIUR PROGRAMMES The main task for youth justice managers and practitioners is to make certain the selection of offender oriented programmes which have been proven to be mainly effective or at least show that in the future they can chive the main goal. Bloom (2006) formulated some questions which are central to the assessment of what works he states What social programs, policies and interventions work? For whom do they work, and under what conditions? And why do they work- or fall short? (Bloom, 2006). What are the offending behaviour programmes? One could claim that that there are two fundamental ways in which to change a young persons behaviour by changing either or both the environment in which he or she hangs or lives in and also by changing the actual individual. It has been highlighted that the most important cause of criminality amongst young people who offend is their individual characteristics whilst for others it is their environment be it the community, home life and much more (Wikstrrom et al, 2008). COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THEARPY (CBT) The idea of CBT is that if you can change the way a person be it male or female perceives and thinks about the social settings they come across and their actions, you can change that persons behaviour. This prevention model suggests that cognition is significant for behaviour and short-term interventions can change young peoples cognition in a way that significantly impacts their offending (Wikstrom et al, 2007). CBT is a fairly new intervention type which has began from advances in the understanding of the role of internal cognition in the expression of external behaviours. In the past three decades according to Leschied (2002) cognitive science and neuropsychology have advanced rapidly bringing a new awareness of how the ways in which persons feel and think influences how they react to the settings in which they take part. This progression is claimed to have revolutionised thinking in the field of criminology. The study of the causes of crime has extended to the causal chain from internal to environmental influences through attention and perception. It is suggested that successfully influencing elements in behaviour and crime causation can have significant and a long-term impact on how individuals choose to act (Wikstrom, 2006). CBT is built around the idea that cognition affects behaviour which also includes offending behaviour. It is believed that individuals have the capacity to monitor and adapt their ways of thinking, which can change how they react to those settings. Hollin (1990) extended this theory by suggesting that offenders may think and feel differently than non-offenders and that this difference in cognition may be the causal link to their offending behaviour. However there are many different types of cognitive behavioural interventions which aim to correct distorted, deficient and dysfunctional cognition which may reinforce offending behaviour by teaching new cognitive skills such as self awareness, moral reasoning, interpersonal perception and many more which increase awareness of the link between thought processes and maladaptive behaviours, and support an individuals ability to actively change those processes in a more positive way (Wilson et al, 2005). Coyle (2005) stated that cognitive behavioural interventions can affect different areas of cognition and behaviour example which may be target are for example decision making, emotional characteristics of behaviour. Areas which are commonly addressed by CBT are victim impact, anger management, moral reasoning social skills training cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention and much more. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) within Young Offender Institutions (YOI). Wilson et al (2005) states that within Young offender institutions CBTs are usually delivered in groups of 8 to 12 offenders. One of the most commonly use interventions applied in YOI are Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), which is a moral reasoning intervention, which targets moral developments and is delivered in groups of between 10 and 15 participants, Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR), a cognitive skills training intervention, which is delivered in groups of six to eight participants. There are also other therapies which according to Kurtz (2002) are deemed to be popular and effective these therapies include Aggression Replacement Training (ART), which include anger management, moral reasoning elements and other cognitive skills training interventions, which target awareness of thinking patterns, the perceived legitimacy of offending behaviour and problem solving skills to encourage consideration of alternatives. MULTI-SYSTEMIC THERAPY (MST) MST focuses on the need for changes in an offenders immediate social environments such as their family. School and peer environments, the aim is to help reduce or prevent their problematic behaviour and offending. It is the belief that offenders do not act in a social vacuum and their criminality is an outcome of their interaction with the social environment. It is claimed for example that it may be easier to change an offenders moral values and habits that support law breaking by also changing those aspects of the individuals environment that may influence or support such values (Wikstrom and Treiber, 2008). The writer Borduin et al (2003) said that MST was developed specifically to treat youths with serious offending and behaviour problems. MST is aimed youths aged between 10-17 years. It is individualised intervention programme which is intensive and targets the social systems in which a young person who offends operates. MST views offending behaviour as a consequence of the link between individuals and the external systems in which they partake in socially. The primary goal for MST is to promote multi-faceted change in individual, school, neighbourhood and familial variables which influence offending There are two theoretical explanations of which MST draws up, the first is Bronfenbrenners human ecology theory which suggests that there is a link b

Magical Realism: History and Theory :: Realist Latin American Literature Essays

Magical Realism: History and Theory Magical Realism to me is the world's view of literature and art combined. It has a vast amount of characteristics that most, if not all, Magical realist fiction shares. Magical Realism has a lot of content to be studied in order to fully understand it. The term magical realism was first introduced by Franz Roh in 1925. He was a German art critic who started the idea of magical realism when he saw a new direction in painting. He used the term to characterize his paintings. Franz Roh states, "We look on it with new eyes"(17). To me, this statement is saying that we look on the world with a different approach. There is magical realism in everything we do. Literature and art are two main topics magical realism occurs in often. If studied thoroughly, we realize that there is magical realism in our lives everyday. Many articles have the main definition of magical realism stated in them. These articles are by Franz Roh, Angel Flores, Luis Leal, Amaryll Chanady, and Scott Simpkins. Most of the information in these articles is repetition from the articles however, they still include important information and feedback about each authors' views on the term. One of my favorite texts that we read was the article by Luis Leal. Leal which states, that magical realism is to express emotions, not to evoke them(121). Leal disagrees with many authors. Leal says that he does not believe magical realism was started by Borges in 1935(120). There are many added characteristics of magical realism. Some of these characteristics are to express emotions, do not use dream motifs, innocence has no logical or physiological explanation, and feelings are unexplainable. Magical Realism differs from fantasy because it is set in a normal world with descriptions of humans and society. Luis Leal states, "Strange how people are under the impression that making a bed is exactly the same as making bed, that to shake hands is always the same as shaking hands, that opening a can of sardines is to open the same can of sardines"(121). Everything is an exception. In Franz Roh's discusses many characteristics of magical realism in paintings.. "Both kinds of miniaturist paintings, the one that reconciles is to the world and the one that tries to horrify us"(qtd.in Roh 29). The way I view the world through art is a big characteristic to magical realism myself.

Investigating the Relationship Between Women and Crime :: Papers

A consistent feature of the statistics, not only in England and Wales but across Europe and America, is that far fewer women are convicted of crime than men – a fact which has changed little over the years. Female offenders also show a different pattern of offending being less involved in violent offences and proportionately more involved in theft. In general most now accept that girls and women do commit fewer offences than boys. GENDER AND PATTERNS OF CRIME Writing in 1977 Carol Smart stated: Our knowledge is still in its infancy. In comparison with the massive documentation on all aspects of male delinquency and criminality, the amount of work carried out on the area of women and crime is extremely limited. Although the years since Smart’s study have seen much more interest in the study of female crime and deviance, many general theories in this area continue to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality. This is despite the fact that official figures suggest that gender is perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is convicted of crime. Any theories which fail to explain this relationship could therefore be seen as inadequate. OFFICIAL STATISTICS, CRIMINALITY AND GENDER Pollak – the ‘masked’ female offender – ‘chivalry’ thesis Writing in 1950, Otto pollak argued that official statistics on gender and crime were highly misleading. He claimed that the statistics seriously under-estimated the extent of female criminality. From an examination of official figures in a number of different countries he claimed to have identified certain crimes that are usually committed by women but are particularly likely to be unreported. Pollak went on to give reasons as to why there should be an under-recording of female crime. 1. He argues that the police, magistrates and other law enforcement officials tend to be men. Brought up to be chivalrous, they are usually lenient with female offenders so that fewer women appear in the statistics. However, he regards this as only a minor factor

Affects of Westernization on Youth and Culture Essay

Youth are the back bone to a nation. The young generation occupies a special place in a society. They can change the future of the society with their spirited behavior. In a broader sense, the future of any society depends on the youth. The youth are ready to adapt changes because they are young, in search of truth and they are open to different ideas. Young people have better concentrating span contrary to old ones and that is how changes are brought in a society. All societies pay special attention to the youth. The youth acts as the motivating force of revolution. No revolution can be successful without the efforts of youth in a course of action. Their youthful energy enables them to perform great in every field and enables them to be innovative and skillful. Culture is the complete range of learned human behavior patterns. It includes a set of Customs, beliefs, and traditions. Culture is also shaped by Religion, language, festivals, dress, arts and craft. Culture is passed down from generation to generation. Youth of a society preserves its culture. All Cultures are naturally prone to change and, at the same time, to resist change. There are three general sources of influence that are responsible for both change and resistance to it: Forces at work within a society, Contact between societies and Changes in the natural environment. Within a society, processes leading to change include invention and culture loss. Inventions may be either technological or ideological. Technological inventions include new tools, energy sources, and transportation methods. Culture loss is an unavoidable result of old cultural patterns being replaced by new ones. For example, not many Pakistanis today know how to care for a horse. A century ago, this was common knowledge among many people because buggies and horse-riding were the only means of transportation. Since then, vehicles with internal combustion engines have replaced horses and horse care knowledge lost its importance. As a result, children are rarely taught these skills. Instead, they are trained in the use of the new technologies of automobiles, televisions, cellular phones, computers, and iPods. The processes leading to change that occur as a result of contact between societies are diffusion, acculturation and transculturation. Diffusion is the movement of things and ideas from one culture to another. When diffusion occurs, the form of a trait may move from one society to another but not its original cultural meaning. Acculturation is what happens to an entire culture when unfamiliar traits diffuse in on a large scale and significantly replace traditional cultural patterns. Transculturation is what happens to an individual when he or she moves to another society and adopts its culture. The word westernization is defined as â€Å"The social process of becoming familiar with or converting to the customs and practices of Western civilization†. The youth of Pakistan is talented and dedicated. Unfortunately, the youth today is involved in activities which are neither useful to them nor the nation. All that keeps them busy during the day are games, TV shows, movies and socializing with their peers which these days, is commonly called â€Å"hanging out†. At night, they’re busy chatting on the internet, listening to music, attending late night parties and some are even involved in illegal activities like smoking and drinking. They have no vision and instead of improving themselves or doing something productive, they choose to waste their time. All this is because of westernization of youth in Pakistan. Over the past decade, the youth of Pakistan has been adversely affected by western culture. A significant change has been observed in the culture of Pakistan. Many regional rituals have either been forgotten or replaced by western rituals; young people prefer western attire over national dress, fast food is preferred over regional food, family values are not practiced the way they used to, dating has become very common and violent behavior has become a trend among youngsters. In such a situation, culture cannot be passed on in its original form; it would rather be modified or to be more specific, westernized.

Chemistry †Factors Affecting Electrochemical Cells Essay

How do the changeable electrodes of different reactivity affect the energy in Volts measured by a Voltmeter while the Solution and the Salt Bridge stay constant for every single trial by the same amount in each beaker? Background Theory: The conductance of an electrolyte depends upon the number of ions present in the solution. Therefore, the greater the number of ions in the solution the greater is the conductance. The number of ions produced by an electrolyte depends upon its nature. The strong electrolytes dissociate almost completely into ions in solutions and, therefore, their solutions have high conductance. On the other hand, weak electrolytes dissociate to only small extents and give lesser number of ions. Therefore, the solutions of weak electrolytes have low conductance. Electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that makes the substance electrically conductive. Ionic Solutions are the most common, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible. Hypothesis: As the Electrodes in the constant Sodiumsulfate solution varies after each trial, the electrolyte with the highest difference of reactivity should result the highest Voltage. The understanding behind this theory is the following. The used electrodes are in a specific order of reactivity. Therefore the element on top of the list (potassium) should react most and the element on bottom (copper) least. If both are used together in an electrochemical cell, this should more reactive than other elements (electrodes, such as zinc, calcium, aluminium and†¦). With a higher reactivity rate, the voltage also increases because of the number of ions released which related to a greater conductance. Apparatus †¢2 Beakers (50ml) †¢Salt bridge (0.1 concentration) (KNO3) †¢Solution ïÆ'   (MgSO4) †¢Voltmeter