Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Ian T. Snyder POL 201 Pearl Galano October 20th 2012 Habeas corpus is considered to be one of the most fundamental guarantees of personal liberty we have enjoyed as a country since the inception of our Constitution. However, questions have arisen regarding the proper use of habeas corpus and have been brought into focus in the past decade.In the years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, hundreds of people have been detained by the United States government as part of its war on terror. Most of these detainees face indefinite detention and have neither been charged with a crime nor afforded prisoner of war status. Habeas corpus serves to protect citizens against arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killings and is a fundamental personal liberty guaranteed by our Constitution and cannot be suspended based on that fact.Habeas corpus (or writ of Habeas corpus ) is a judicially enforceable order issued by a court of law to a prison of ficial ordering that a prisoner be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that prisoner had been lawfully imprisoned and, if not, whether he or she should be released from custody. The right of habeas corpus is the constitutionally bestowed right of a person to present evidence before a court that he or she has been wrongly imprisoned.The rights of writs of habeas corpus are granted in Article I of the Constitution, which States, â€Å"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. â€Å"( Habeas Corpus in times of Emergency; Iowa State Review) A Habeas Corpus petition is a petition filed with a court by a person who objects to his own or another's imprisonment. The petition must show that the court ordering the imprisonment made a legal or factual error.The right of habeas corpus is the constitutionally bestowed right of a person to present evidence before a co urt that he or she has been wrongly imprisoned. History The history of Habeas Corpus is ancient. It appears to be predominately of Anglo-Saxon common law origin, although the precise origin of Habeas Corpus is uncertain. Its principle effect was achieved in the middle ages by use of similar laws, the sum of which helped to mold our current policies. Habeas Corpus has since the earliest times been employed to compel the appearance of a person who is in custody to be brought before a court.Habeas Corpus was generally unknown to the various law systems of Europe which are generally devolved from Roman law. European civil law systems tend to favor collective authority from the top down while the Anglo-Saxon common law tends to favor the individual. As a feature of common law, the right of Habeas Corpus reflects the age old contest between the individual and the state. Habeas Corpus empowers the individual in holding accountable the exercise of the states power to influence liberty. The War on TerrorIn the years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, hundreds of people have been detained by the United States government as part of its war on terror at locations such as the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Most of these detainees have faced indefinite detention and have neither been charged with a crime nor afforded prisoner of war Status. Many of these detainees have sought to use habeas corpus proceedings to challenge the legality of their detention.The United States government initially took the position that habeas corpus was not available to detainees because of their status as â€Å"enemy combatants† and their location outside of the sovereign territory of the United States. In 2004, the United States Supreme Court determined that non-citizen detainees at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to file habeas corpus petitions in federal courts. Congress subsequently made a political determination as to the appropriate s cope of habeas corpus and passed legislation that, stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions brought by enemy combatants.This ruling was then shortly overturned. The question of whether detainees such as those at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay should have access to habeas corpus is a complex one. It involves issues of territorial jurisdiction, separation of powers, and the status of the individuals. However, at a more basic level, this question should ask as to the nature of the right of habeas corpus and the applicability of the rule of law during national security emergencies. At this level, the situation presented by detainees at Guantanamo Bay or Bagram is not entirely unique.It represents another example of those situations in which governments have attempted to deny the availability of habeas corpus based on real or perceived threats to national security. On Oct. 17, 2006, President Bush signed a law suspending the right of habeas corpus to persons â⠂¬Å"determined by the United States† to be an â€Å"enemy combatant† in the Global War on Terror. President Bush's action drew severe criticism, mainly for the law's failure to specifically designate who in the United States will determine who is and who is not an enemy combatant.This however was not the first time in the history of the U. S. Constitution that it’s guaranteed right to habeas corpus has been suspended by an action of the President of the United States. In the early days of the U. S. Civil War Abraham Lincoln suspended writs of habeas corpus. Both presidents based their action on the dangers of war, and both presidents faced sharp criticism for carrying out what many believed to be an attack on the Constitution. President Bush suspended writs of habeas corpus through his support and signing into law of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.The bill grants the President of the United States almost unlimited authority in establishing and conducting mi litary commissions to try persons held by the U. S. in the Global War on Terrorism. In addition, the Act suspends the right of â€Å"unlawful enemy combatants† to present, or to have presented in their behalf, writs of habeas corpus. 1. Jonathan Turley, professor of constitutional law at George Washington University stated, â€Å"What, really, a time of shame this is for the American system. What the Congress did and what the president signed today essentially revokes over 200 years of American principles and values. † To which I agree.The President’s decision to deny the detainees prisoner-of-war (POW) status remains a point of contention, especially overseas with some arguing that it is based on an inaccurate interpretation of the Geneva Convention for the Treatment of Prisoners of War , which they assert requires that all combatants captured on the battlefield are entitled to be treated as POWs until an independent tribunal has determined otherwise. The Genev a Conventions of 1949 create comprehensive legal specifications for the treatment of detainees in war. Members of a regular armed force and certain others share entitled to specific privileges as POWs.Members of volunteer corps, militias, and organized resistance forces that are not part of the armed services of a party to the conflict are entitled to POW status if they meet four criteria specified in the treaty. Groups that do not meet the standards are not entitled to POW status, and their members who commit belligerent acts may be treated as civilians under the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. ( Terrorism, the Laws of War, and the Constitution – Policy Archive ) These â€Å"unlawful combatants† are not afforded immunity for their hostile acts.A petitioner must be treated as a prisoner of war until a competent tribunal has decided otherwise, and that a military commission may not proceed with their trial. Although some 250 detainees (including three children under the age of 16)13 have been released from the detention facilities at the U. S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and some detainees are being rewarded for cooperation with better living conditions while the status and treatment of detainees who remain in custody continue to be a source of contention. (â€Å"Enemy Combatants† Journal, Wuerth) SummaryThe Constitution provides Congress with ample authority to legislate the treatment of battlefield detainees in the custody of the U. S. military. The Constitution empowers Congress to make rules regarding capture and to define and punish violations of international law, and to make regulations to govern the armed forces. (Policy Archive) Congress also has the constitutional prerogative to declare war, a power it has not yet exercised with regard to the armed conflict in Afghanistan. By not declaring war, Congress has implicitly redefined what was clearly stated in the Constitution concerning the treatment of detainees.The Administration has asserted that the war on terror is a new kind of conflict, requiring a new set of rules and definitions. However it is clear that there has been a failure to expeditiously process and, if appropriate, prosecute detainees in the custody of the United States, including those in the custody of the United States. References: 2. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 344 F. Supp. 2d 152 (D. D. C. ,2004), rev’d 413 F. 3d 33 (D. C. Cir. 2005), cert. granted 2005 U. S. LEXIS 8222 (Nov. 7, 2005). 3. Habeas Corpus in Times of Emergency: A Historical and Comparative View Brian Farrell University of Iowa College of Law . The War and the Writ Habeas corpus and security in an age of terrorism by Jonathan Shaw January-February 2009 (Harvard Magazine) 5. U. S. -Freed ‘Combatant’ Is Returned to Saudi Arabia, L. A. TIMES, Oct. 12, 2004, at A8; Jerry Markon, Father Denounces Hamdi’s Imprisonment; Son Posed No Threat to U. S. , He Say s, WASH. POST, Oct. 13, 2004, at A4. 6. Terrorism, the Laws of War, and the Constitution – Policy Archive www. policyarchive. org/handle/10207/bitstreams/11854. pdf 7. The President's Power to Detain â€Å"Enemy Combatants† www. pegc. us/archive/Journals/wuerth_Cinn_power_to_detain. pdf

Criminal Justice

I put myself in the situation of the investigators in he TV shows and think of what I would actually do. My dad used to work in the department of CSS for the Texas police Department so I have some background knowledge and terminology of what is going on. I frequently asked questions and I felt like I somewhat knew the life of a crime scene investigator. They get calls in the middle of the night and they have to go out to the scene. Let is a very stressful and traumatizing job. When it comes down to the two shows of First 48 and CSS, they deal with crimes that involve murders and have investigation element.CSS is full of trained investigators trying to examine the evidence. They find the missing pieces that will solve the case. â€Å"A criminal investigator is a person who conducts investigations for criminal cases. This person is responsible for collecting and assessing evidence for a case to pinpoint guilty parties. If you have ever watched an episode of CSS, you have seen criminal Basic Carnally Investigation 2 investigators in action. The ones In the real world do roughly the same work, but they don't always have dramatic cases to deal with. This explains the Job of a criminal investigator and the Job duties will vary depending on what type of crime there is. When It comes to every crime scene, it goes through steps before It Is considered solved or unsolved. If It Is unsolved, they have tried numerous times to solve the case, but had no leads or no witnesses. The steps are evaluating the case,collecting the evidence,analyzing the forensics, identifying the suspect, if you have a suspect, interrogate him/her, then you bring the case to court for trial and lastly, depending on if the criminal investigators did their Job right justice will be served.Most investigators want to put the suspect in Jail, but that is not always the case. I explain the procedures and process of a crime scene investigator because this is what the the show CSS deals with. Though, CSS is not like Law and Order where they interrogate a suspect, go to trial , and show if the suspect goes to Jail or not. CSS has added drama and it deals more with investigating the actual crime scene. It is a scripted TV show and you can tell some of the scenes are over dramatic and side of the road on a highway.It is about how the team of investigators find out the woman was once a man who underwent a sex change. They investigate and go out figuring out the life of transgender. The way they showed reconstruction of the crime scene is how they would picture the crime in their head. They focused on the evidence in the car and they Basic Criminal Investigation 3 tried to find the fabrics in the car if there was any evidence left behind. They find out who the suspect is, but they do not let the viewers know what happens to the suspect. They have the viewer assume.When they show how the evidence is transferred on to a body part, that is when determination and special effects come into p lay. They show the victim in the crime lab, and they investigate the possibilities f what may have happened. This episode was more realistic because they found the killer in a reasonable time because the suspect confessed. Usually, they would find out the suspect in the same amount of time, but it was unrealistic. SSL makes up more their unrealistic scenes by doing what actual Crime scene investigators do.Watching an Episode of the First 48, this episode was on 9/7/12 and it was about a scene that occurred in Dallas Texas and two friends were walking in the woods and discover a dead body. Let was near the rail road tracks and they call the police. It was ruing May 5th. The body was burned and it had no arms. It is missing the head and hands. The criminal investigator has experience of 19 years. First 48 is based on real life situations and and it is filmed on site, This show focuses more on catching the criminal and investigating what happened within the first 48 hours.This is more realistic because the time frame is actually a real scenario. There is no determination to it. This is actual real life homicides that happen in different cities. The investigators actually use forensic evidence, and witnesses to find the suspect. Though only says 48 hours, it goes on more than that and could even lead into years. The investigate the body and Basic Criminal Investigation 4 they actually go into the scene. They did not show any crime lab or any special investigating on the body.They focused on more investigating the case and how it happened. Watching both shows there are definitely more differences than there are similarities. When it comes to CSS, they find the body to open up the show rather than scene and then they take the body to the forensic lab. They actually take the time to observe the body and find out possibilities and theories of what could have happened in the lab. That is how they portray the scene by going through what they think had happened.Watching First 48, it actually a whole real life scene. Someone calls the police, they set up a crime scene, and they start to investigate instantly. They take the body to the forensic lab. Both shows are different in a way where CSS actually shows you what they do in the lab, and First 48 does not show you the lab and they focus more on the crime scene. The two shows both have reconstruction crime scene, UT the way CSS does is that they dramatist the scene of the evidence.You can tell that there are unrealistic possibilities in CSS rather than watching First 48 where everything is what would actually happen. Both shows used the proper equipment for the scene. SSL is a lot shorter and the way they find the suspect is unrealistic because they show it in a half an hour time frame rather than an actual 48 hours. SSL leaves you wanting more as well as First 48, but First 48 will always be in favor of real Crime scene investigators because it is documentary based rather and a Hollywood reality TV show. Criminal Justice I put myself in the situation of the investigators in he TV shows and think of what I would actually do. My dad used to work in the department of CSS for the Texas police Department so I have some background knowledge and terminology of what is going on. I frequently asked questions and I felt like I somewhat knew the life of a crime scene investigator. They get calls in the middle of the night and they have to go out to the scene. Let is a very stressful and traumatizing job. When it comes down to the two shows of First 48 and CSS, they deal with crimes that involve murders and have investigation element.CSS is full of trained investigators trying to examine the evidence. They find the missing pieces that will solve the case. â€Å"A criminal investigator is a person who conducts investigations for criminal cases. This person is responsible for collecting and assessing evidence for a case to pinpoint guilty parties. If you have ever watched an episode of CSS, you have seen criminal Basic Carnally Investigation 2 investigators in action. The ones In the real world do roughly the same work, but they don't always have dramatic cases to deal with. This explains the Job of a criminal investigator and the Job duties will vary depending on what type of crime there is. When It comes to every crime scene, it goes through steps before It Is considered solved or unsolved. If It Is unsolved, they have tried numerous times to solve the case, but had no leads or no witnesses. The steps are evaluating the case,collecting the evidence,analyzing the forensics, identifying the suspect, if you have a suspect, interrogate him/her, then you bring the case to court for trial and lastly, depending on if the criminal investigators did their Job right justice will be served.Most investigators want to put the suspect in Jail, but that is not always the case. I explain the procedures and process of a crime scene investigator because this is what the the show CSS deals with. Though, CSS is not like Law and Order where they interrogate a suspect, go to trial , and show if the suspect goes to Jail or not. CSS has added drama and it deals more with investigating the actual crime scene. It is a scripted TV show and you can tell some of the scenes are over dramatic and side of the road on a highway.It is about how the team of investigators find out the woman was once a man who underwent a sex change. They investigate and go out figuring out the life of transgender. The way they showed reconstruction of the crime scene is how they would picture the crime in their head. They focused on the evidence in the car and they Basic Criminal Investigation 3 tried to find the fabrics in the car if there was any evidence left behind. They find out who the suspect is, but they do not let the viewers know what happens to the suspect. They have the viewer assume.When they show how the evidence is transferred on to a body part, that is when determination and special effects come into p lay. They show the victim in the crime lab, and they investigate the possibilities f what may have happened. This episode was more realistic because they found the killer in a reasonable time because the suspect confessed. Usually, they would find out the suspect in the same amount of time, but it was unrealistic. SSL makes up more their unrealistic scenes by doing what actual Crime scene investigators do.Watching an Episode of the First 48, this episode was on 9/7/12 and it was about a scene that occurred in Dallas Texas and two friends were walking in the woods and discover a dead body. Let was near the rail road tracks and they call the police. It was ruing May 5th. The body was burned and it had no arms. It is missing the head and hands. The criminal investigator has experience of 19 years. First 48 is based on real life situations and and it is filmed on site, This show focuses more on catching the criminal and investigating what happened within the first 48 hours.This is more realistic because the time frame is actually a real scenario. There is no determination to it. This is actual real life homicides that happen in different cities. The investigators actually use forensic evidence, and witnesses to find the suspect. Though only says 48 hours, it goes on more than that and could even lead into years. The investigate the body and Basic Criminal Investigation 4 they actually go into the scene. They did not show any crime lab or any special investigating on the body.They focused on more investigating the case and how it happened. Watching both shows there are definitely more differences than there are similarities. When it comes to CSS, they find the body to open up the show rather than scene and then they take the body to the forensic lab. They actually take the time to observe the body and find out possibilities and theories of what could have happened in the lab. That is how they portray the scene by going through what they think had happened.Watching First 48, it actually a whole real life scene. Someone calls the police, they set up a crime scene, and they start to investigate instantly. They take the body to the forensic lab. Both shows are different in a way where CSS actually shows you what they do in the lab, and First 48 does not show you the lab and they focus more on the crime scene. The two shows both have reconstruction crime scene, UT the way CSS does is that they dramatist the scene of the evidence.You can tell that there are unrealistic possibilities in CSS rather than watching First 48 where everything is what would actually happen. Both shows used the proper equipment for the scene. SSL is a lot shorter and the way they find the suspect is unrealistic because they show it in a half an hour time frame rather than an actual 48 hours. SSL leaves you wanting more as well as First 48, but First 48 will always be in favor of real Crime scene investigators because it is documentary based rather and a Hollywood reality TV show.

Old Major’s speech analysis Essay

In the novel â€Å"Animal Farm† by George Orwell Old Major, the pig, gives a speech, in which he uses a variety of technics in order to convince the other animals that only rebellion will lead to their freedom. Old Major’s second paragraph (page 15) is about facing the reality, showing the misery they live through and foretelling them their end how they will be slaughtered when they can not fulfil their duty anymore. By this truth Old Major catches the animals’ attention and stirs up their fury feelings towards humans. Furthermore, he creates unity among the animals. Not only with his repeated address â€Å"comrades† but with pronouns such as â€Å"we, our and us†. The result is sympathy and respect, which Old Major gains. His tone seems very strict and factual due to the harsh words he intends to use, supported by the repetition of colons. Mostly effective are, however, the rhetorical devices found in his speech. At first he asks rhetorical questio ns, for example: â€Å"What is the nature of this life of ours?†. By involving his audience he makes sure that he is followed in his ideas and lets the other animals get active in thinking. Moreover, the paragraph includes a triad consisting of â€Å"our lives are miserable, laborious, and short†. This rhythm builds tension and sets the animals on even higher mutiny. By close inspection one will find the use of alliteration illustrated by â€Å"breath in our bodies†. Here again the smoothness and therefore the resulting rightness of Old Major’s words. In addition, he makes use of figurative language. The metaphor â€Å"those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength† is an example for the strong imagery Old Major creates to assure the others of their wrong treatment by their farmer. The anaphora near the end of the paragraph starting two following sentences with â€Å"No animal in England†¦Ã¢â‚¬  brings out the importance of the repeated sentence structure, leading to the animals’ actual right of happiness and freedom. Finally, Old Major contrasts negative vocabulary including â€Å"misery, slavery and cruelty† with positive ones such as â€Å"happiness and freedom†. The huge different sound ings of these words create hope upon all the animals and let them think that they deserve better.

Cause and effect for the popularity of fast food restaurants, And how Essay - 1

Cause and effect for the popularity of fast food restaurants, And how it is effecting us - Essay Example Direct links can be observed between the habitual use of fast food, the portion sizes, and the soaring increases of the proliferation of these types of restaurants. The hurried pace of life within the United States and the high profitability of fast food has caused the streets to be filled with these types of restaurants and has consequently contributed significantly to the increases that can be observed in the rates of obesity. The leading competitor in the fast food industry is McDonalds with 19% of all sales in the fast food industry going to this restaurant chain. The second corporation is Doctor’s Associates, Inc. which owns Subway at 10% of the revenue, with Yum Brands, which owns KFC, A&W, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Yum Restaurants coming in third. The top seven competing fast food restaurants only hold 45% of the market, with McDonald’s holding 19% of that share making them the most powerful fast food restaurant in the United States (McDonald’s MCD). Therefore, looking at McDonalds has the best value in assessing the position of fast food for the American public The profitability of fast food restaurants in balance with the quick resource of food has created a large industry of fast food within the United States. With the ease of drive-through windows, the speed of food delivery, and the high levels of advertising engaging the viewers with the value of fast, high calorie fatty foods, the American public is up against a difficult temptation. In 2007, the McDonald’s corporation made 22.8 billion dollars, with Doctor’s Associates, Inc bringing in 11.3 billion dollars (McDonald’s MCD). McDonald’s stays on top by actively pursuing areas of marketing development, market penetration, product development, and diversification. In the 2007 annual report, McDonald’s discussed the advantages and marketing purposes of adding healthy choices to their menu, however despite these changes 75%

Defeating corruption to help development Coursework

Defeating corruption to help development - Coursework Example From this research it is clear that when citizens become the custodian of the goods and services of the State, it is indeed a great and an honorable responsibility. Simultaneously, they are also entrusted with the duty of distributing these goods among the society on behalf of the country’s Government. The public servants have to manage large amount of the State’s resources for their work. In many situations, the government officials are lured into securing a part of the State’s resources for their personal benefit. This is usually accomplished by adopting some unfair means. Such an activity of exploiting a public service for some personal gain is known as â€Å"corruption†. Examples of corrupt illegal practices include offering and accepting of bribes, practicing black-market activities, stealing public resources etc. Corruption has affected most of the bureaucratic systems of the modern-day countries. Both senior government officials as well as low-ranke d public servants have been found to be engaged in unlawful activities. The corruptive malpractices have gradually eaten into the health of the public service organizations. They have originated from different social and institutional factors and have now become deeply embedded in the social system of countries. The illegal activities are prevalent on a regular basis and have come to be accepted as an integral part of the bureaucratic systems. In many countries corruption has become so endemic that it is perceived as normal. People are not necessarily genetically programmed to pay bribes, yet they do it for a range of complex and deeply-seated institutional and social reasons. It is more difficult to break this cycle of normality than penalizing individual corrupt acts. Thus, Governments of different countries have encountered numerous difficulties in eradicating corruption. In the early 1990s, the Russian authorities had to implement a number of institutional reforms to tackle corr uption in the public as well as the private sector. The nature of Corruption Corruption is defined as the ‘abuse of public office for private gain’ (USAID, 2005). It refers to the malpractice of taking undue advantage of an existing system for catering to some personal requirement. Governments of different countries have introduced various public service programs for the benefit of the local population, especially the poor section of society. However, most of these public service systems have been the breeding ground for corruptive practices. According to the USAID Anticorruption Strategy (ACS), corruption pollutes the fair and unbiased system of the national democratic institutions by placing them at the discretion of the privileged class citizens. This reduces the efficiency of the public service systems: the goods and services meant to be delivered to the poor population are channelized elsewhere. These corruptive practices act as a huge barrier to the governmental e fforts of promoting social, political and economic development of the society. Thus, corruption is a significant hindrance to the economic development of a nation (USAID, 2005, p.8). Corruption is prevalent in varying degrees in almost all economies of the world. The national Governments have implemented a number of measures to deal with this bad practice. They have mainly adopted a two-pronged strategy in this context. On one hand, they have tightened the rules and regulations of the bureaucratic systems to prevent the incidence of corruption among the public servants. On the other hand, governments have also administered strict punishment to the citizens found guilty of being involved in corruptive practices. (USAID, 2005. P.8-9s) Human Behavioral Reasons behind Corruption Human Psychologists and Behavior Specialists have tried to trace the origins of corruption to help them understand the reason as to why normal people indulge in such unlawful behavior. Human society has been pla gued by corruptive malpractices right from the ancient times. The old civilizations like India bear

Overcoming the Modern - Kawabata's 'Yukiguni' Essay

Overcoming the Modern - Kawabata's 'Yukiguni' - Essay Example 246). A love affair between rich Tokyo dilettante, Shimamura, and a young geisha, Komako, is the main story of the novel. However, cultural symbolism interwoven in the plot of the story makes it look like a Japanese puzzle. It is both interesting to read and complex to understand all the meanings of writer’s cultural riddles. One has to be well aware of Japanese cultural nuances to accept Kawabata’s book as easy reading of a love story. Romantic relationship is not the main idea the writer wants to express. There are much more issues of cultural identity which are raised in this literary work. To understand and appreciate Kawabata’s â€Å"Yukiguni† a reader has to be competent in Japanese culture and literature enough. Also difference in mentality and perceptions of Japanese and Western culture might influence on understanding Kawabata’s work. There is no wonder in different interpretations of the main messages’ meaning, because Kawabata’ â€Å"characters are determined by forces so completely beyond their control that these characters typically appear to the Western reader almost pathologically passive and irresolute† (Pollack, 102). At the same time, however, life and human relationships in different cultures are much alike. There is no wonder that a non-Japanese reader will associate himself/herself with Shimamura or Komato. Furthermore, most of Kawabata’s works are claimed to be plotless. Reading â€Å"Snow Country† requires some meditation and contemplation. Otherwise, the reader might lose not only interest, but complete understanding of the essence of this book. Having enough knowledge about Japan and its culture, one has to be able to read between the lines to understand Japaneseness of Kawabata’s novel. According to Pollack, Japanese writer’s work is based on Tanabata legend (misfortunate astral lover who are

Online research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online research - Essay Example He never admitted to causing the injuries until the infant’s doctor confronted him and told him to take the infant to the hospital. Having spent only a few days in the hospital, the infant was released and her grandparents were given custody of her as well as the rest of her siblings. Day, who had been working as a dispatcher in the communications center of his local police department since 2007, was fired immediately following his arrest. Day is not set to make his first appearance in court until July 29, 2010. Various organizations and businesses that focus on child abuse are involved in the case, such as The Department of Children and Family and the Children’s Advocacy Center. The form of abuse that was involved in this case was physical abuse, or aggravated battery. Child neglect was also part of this case as Day did not immediately seek medical attention after his daughter sustained the injuries brought on by his carelessness and abuse. The injury report that had been filed after the infant spent time in the hospital showed that the fractured femur could be older than the fractured skull, which suggests that the infant could have faced earlier instances of child abuse. This bit of information has caused the case to be ongoing as investigators try to figure out how long the infant has dealt with the abuse of her father, if her siblings have acquired any injuries due to abuse, and if the mother of the children was aware of what was going on. The overall effect of the abuse and neglect on the infant was physical damage, though the damage is not considered to be long-term or life threatening. The infant is also now not living with her biological parents, which is a painful separation for someone as young as she is. As an infant, she requires the bond and nurture of her biological parents, especially her mother. Though the physical damage may not be long lasting, the mental and emotional state of the infant can alter with

Language of the future generation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Language of the future generation - Essay Example Moreover, all the things of the world are interconnected, because the language is a binding part of this chain. Therefore, the language deserves respect and special attention, as any important thing deserves respect and special attention. Every day we use many different words. These words are in turn arranged in a certain order, which forms a unique and interesting world. This world has its own laws and also the presence of certain secrets. The world of language besides has its own unique history. Therefore, the words, with which we share with each other, always act on our souls, thoughts and life in general. In everyday life we ​​use language such often as breathe and walk. Communication is our common means of transmission of any information. But if we use a variety of words and phrases, we should think about their origin and meaning. After all, how correctly and competently we use the tools of our language, how we are perceived by others. One word can sometimes have o n the interlocutor quite diverse influences. So from the early age, when we begin to learn the basics of grammar and vocabulary, we must diligently and in good faith to obtain this knowledge. Otherwise, the person will not know the correct language. So, when he becomes an adult and independent person, he would realize that good knowledge of the language would make him more authoritative and wise for example among his colleagues. However, he will experience a shame and a lack of success.

Homeless Veterans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homeless Veterans - Essay Example To save the veteran homelessness, everybody has to join hands. Being in the army is no easy job, and everybody of us knows the implications of such a dangerous profession. Dealing with stressful situations on the battle field and experiencing one of the worst kinds of human slaughter, the thought of war brings with it grisly images for the veterans even when they have returned home. Almost every one of the army men faces extreme depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) once their numbness begins to lift. For some war veterans it has even taken a decade before the effects of the war have emerged plunging them into complete darkness. This is helped by little or no support from the government which even though has made independent organizations such as the U.S. Department of the Veteran Affairs (VA) but no real improvements can be observed on ground. This fact is further supported by the figures given by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that on a single n ight in the United States at least 62,619 war veterans are homeless and living on streets or in shelters (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans). Another 1.4 million veterans are suspected on the verge of homelessness due to various reasons. Is that how we return our services to people who had once served us? If the issue of fixing homelessness for war veterans is not treated as a grave emergency, things can be safely assumed as getting out of control. Though the VA argues on successfully providing shelter, medication and other services to the war veterans, which is even true to some extent, but the number of veterans still homeless indicates huge loopholes. Once the US troops in Afghanistan start returning home, will they as well be welcomed by similar homelessness? Taken the fact that the VA could not get the 62,619 war veterans off the road, little hope can we have for the 63,000 troops. The matter to address veteran homelessness is also barred by political circumstances. Some of the confidential Pentagon reports have suggested that the United States has no intention of evacuating all of its troops from Afghanistan as soon as 2014; it intends to stay much longer. However, even if we expect a fourth section of soldiers from our army, they easily exceed the number that is already homeless. Thus solutions covering a much wider ground are needed to not just home the existing war veterans but any of the future ones as well. To reduce veteran homelessness an array of measures will have to be taken. An organization or two supported by another few cannot alone fight the consequences of such a grave matter. Veterans do not just need shelter but immense psychological and physical support, taken their horrendous experiences at the battlefield. Most of these men have faced extremely unpleasant situations – after all a war has nothing pleasant to it – and as a result they are at a very high risk of developing psychological disorders. Though people argue that families should be responsible for the health of the veterans once they return, they fail to recognize the fact that many of these ex-soldiers have severed ties with their families after the long time-period spent abroad. We have clear evidences of wives leaving their veteran husbands for other guys since their husbands could not provide for them. As veterans find it difficult to acquire jobs after their services in the army,

View of Human Nature in The True Believer Essay

View of Human Nature in The True Believer - Essay Example Human nature is naturally attracted to fanaticism, because people are empty inside. Hoffer (1959) says: â€Å"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business† (14). Since people find meaninglessness in their existence, they need something larger than themselves to continue â€Å"wanting† to exist. This belief is value-rich, because Hoffer is saying that people need meaning in life, in order to â€Å"live.† Mass movements, furthermore, make them believe that they can do something valuable, which can help them reap benefits in the future. Hoffer stresses that fanaticism is the rejection of the present and the preference for the future, because the â€Å"future† (1959, 182) can given them vital rewards, such as 100% certainty to heaven, as some religious zealots believe. This is the great paradox of mass movements. It might seem that fanatic s are doing something for their organizations, or even their gods, but in reality, when they sacrifice themselves and other people, they are seeking for ultimate selfish gains. Humans are inherently violent, and they do so because they have self-interests. ... feeds something empty inside people, and it helps give an ironic sense of peace to fanatics, because they can express themselves through violent means. The more they can hurt others or themselves or both, the more they feel alive. Mass movements embrace uniformity, because this responds to the need for new meanings. People attracted to mass movements find no meaning inside themselves, and so they have to search for it in external mass movements. Hoffer argues: â€Å"When we lose our individual independence in the incorporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom—freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse† (1959, 100). These newfound freedoms give a sense of meaning, a way to fill the internal void. These meanings make life worth living for in drastically new ways with others who believe in it too. Hoffer offers fine, chilling points on what constitute mass movements. His viewpoints on mass movements underlie his beliefs in human nature. Human beings are selfish, and selfishness and meaninglessness are important ingredients to mass movements. When people are both selfish and find no meaning in their lives, they are moths to the fires of fanaticism, violence, and uniformity. They will brazenly fly to these fires, because by â€Å"dying,† they are â€Å"living.† Self-Interest in â€Å"Why Not Socialism?† G.A. Cohen (2009) believes that people should consider the merits of socialism, because it is morally superior to capitalism. In his book, â€Å"Why Not Socialism?† Cohen examines and defends the advantages of socialism compared to capitalism. His measuring stick is the value and meaning he places on the notion of â€Å"community.† He defines a â€Å"community† as that phenomenon, where â€Å"people care about, and, where necessary

(Optional) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

(Optional) - Research Paper Example Despite the billions of dollars infused in federal stimulus bills such as the JOBS (Jumpstart our Business Startups) Act, the economy is still in fragile health; even the Federal Reserve Bank has employed all the monetary tools at its disposal to revive the economy, such as a continuing a low-interest rate regime and the use of quantitative easing programs to pump more money into the economic system. The American economy is one of the largest in the world but its main foreign market of Europe is in a financial and banking crisis itself. In other words, there is no hope for most American firms to export their way out of the recession, as the global economy is also weak. The United States of America is also facing various financial crises, such as in the retirement savings system which saw 401k savings accounts wiped out by the collapse of stock markets. Demand is also weak, as consumer spending is adversely affected by the loss of confidence. This paper examines a vital sector of the United States economy, the housing sector. It is a vital component of the construction industry, which is a major driver of the domestic economy. Construction, in particular residential housing is a substantial contributor to jobs, investments, and income levels as it employs a good number of workers. The housing sector is not fully recovered from the housing bubble, in which prices grew so fast but collapsed. Discussion America is an industrialized country, and so its economy is largely dependent on the many industries comprising its national economy. An example is the automobile industry that is a major component of the overall manufacturing sector. In this regard, the housing industry is also a major component of the construction industry. New housing construction is a closely-watched economic indicator because it reflects the health of the United States economy. Home building (private housing starts) is a good barometer of industrial domestic production. If people have stable an d well-paying jobs, and they also have confidence in the future, then it follows more people will invest and buy new homes to build their families. The housing sector had been one of the worst-hit in the recession which followed the bursting of the economic bubble in housing prices. As stated earlier, house prices rose fast in the past few years immediately preceding the crisis; the bubble was caused by speculation. The Federal Reserved Board and its economists missed the bubble, arguing it is very hard to detect as it is developing because it is no different from any ordinary economic growth. But in hindsight, there were many warning signs which were missed which could have triggered the corrective actions needed for a â€Å"soft landing† in which prices will go down gradually instead of a sudden bursting where the prices of residential homes deflated from pricey levels. A housing bubble occurs when the prices of homes diverge markedly from their basic or intrinsic values, t he price at which a house should be worth and not on its market price as it becomes subject to speculation. The housing sector has not recovered fully from this bubble as many home mortgages had been foreclosed and most house prices had fallen below their loan value. In other words, homeowners are mostly underwater, in the sense they now owe the banks a larger loan amount than what their houses are worth on the market. This has a bad dampening effect on housing demand, although there are now a few encouraging signs.

The Leadership Challenge Essay Example for Free

The Leadership Challenge Essay Challenges are what this book expands on, most especially, challenges pertaining to traditions and myths about leadership. Kouzes and Posner look at the issue of leadership and ask, What’s new, and what’s different? Through their research they conclude that even if the context has changed, the real meat of leadership remains the same. In their book The Leadership Challenge, the authors provide real examples of what true leaders really are and suggest that anyone can do the same and practice these principles so that they shine as leaders in their own spheres of work or activity. Written in 1987, many thought it would be one of those books on leadership but since it comes at a time when the world is undergoing a lot of changes and there is a big demand on excellence. The newest edition emphasize once again that the fundamentals of leadership, the very essence of what it means to be a good leader is the same today as it was two decades ago. Thus, they posit that â€Å"Leaders do exhibit certain distinct practices when they are doing their best. Good leadership is not only an understandable but also a universal process†¦and Leadership is not a private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary managers use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.† Perhaps this is what makes the book a hit. The authors are able to hit the weak spot of readers as the challenge is brought out to everyone to do their best because being a true leader requires the very same characteristics that one may already be doing in his own field of work, yet just needs some honing. Thus, the context may change – like there are many modern things that had been changing globally, and in this aspect, leadership has changed dramatically; yet the very essence of leadership is still the same, such as the values and virtues that one cultivates in ordinary life. The book is divided into seven parts with thirteen (13) chapters. It helps that the authors are real leaders themselves. Consider this: Jim Kouzes is Chairman Emeritus of the Tom Peters Company and an Executive Fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. Meanwhile, co-author Barry Posner is Dean of the Leavey School of Business and Professor of Leadership at Santa Clara University. They come up with a Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and other publications have made them the authors to beat. Part One of the book establishes the background of what leadership is all about. They challenge readers on how people can be made to follow leadership—that is, by free choice. Thus, they were able to identify five common practices common to most extraordinary leadership. They maintain that leaders do their best when they challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage. Leaders interact well with their followers. Right from the start they provide real life examples such as that Tom Melohn who in a period of eight years increased the sales of the North American Tool and Die (NATD) by a factor of 5, increasing its pretax profits by 750 percent, and decreasing annual turnover from 27 percent to 4 percent. By year eight, NATD was ready to open a new plant which Melohn calls â€Å"Plant 20† receiving its ninth â€Å"vendor of the year† award. From there the authors analyze how Melohn did it considering that he could not even hammer a nail or screw the license plates onto his car, claiming he has never read a book on business since his studies focused on history. He was merely a peddler of packaged goods. He attributes his success because: â€Å"We set three objectives for NATD. First, we planned to from the company profitably. Second, to share the wealth among employees. And third, and equally critical, it was important to have fun—not just the two owners, but all our employees.† From this the authors dissect Melohn’s leadership capabilities within the company. It is in these examples, peppered all throughout the book, which makes The Leadership Challenge a great read. Readers are able to identify with the true-to-life examples of ordinary men and women who did their best to make their lives and those of others memorable. The quality and type of leadership depends, in part, on the attitude or stance of the organizational head. The general outlook of companies with regards to community service and mitigation of negative externalities may have originated from its founder. Leadership is a primary aspect of management, and an effective leader is someone who knows how to motivate the colleagues to act for the attainment of goals. Good leadership will empower employees to become collaborators in the programs. A holistic organizational participation thus dispels the notion that innovations of management are just personal whims of the managers. Good leadership is a response to the changing attitude and values of the clients and the society, and to get obstinately stuck in the old notion of sheer profit-making is placing one’s self under the risks of being static. Thus, the authors explain that once successful companies are no longer successful because they have become static along the way when they failed to change and adapt. The authors also underscore that successful leaders have well-designed strategy for planned change. Good leaders also possess well-planned out strategies which are major courses of action adhered to by an organization in order to meet its goals. They are the company’s methods of responding to threat and opportunities. Their philosophies, programs, practices and decisions, must be in line with the other systems and activities of the organization. Good leaders possess good business ethics, in that it is the ultimate act of deviating from the former exploitative system of capitalism and industrialization. Balancing between strategic logic and social involvement with tangible projects may actually be an implementation of ethic’s moral rights model. Yet the authors provide readers with excellent examples of a leadership model which is not based on power. Rather, it is based on the tools that leaders use to encourage people to be involved in accomplishing the company’s goals by making â€Å"extraordinary things happen,† as the authors refer to. Prominent in each chapter are examples of leaders who were able to overcome crisis situations. The authors maintain that knowledge is not the sole capability of the leaders. They argue that knowledge is distributed in all levels of the organization and that in order for the organization to benefit from the knowledge of the other men and women in it, they must be empowered well. Thus they state that it is not a matter of making people feel that they are part of the company. Rather it is a matter of making people part of it. Thus, it is not based on feeling. There is more a reaching out of leaders to these employees such that they are encouraged to be true followers pursuing the goals of the organization. Finally, the authors argue that empowerment of all members is very important in making changes more effective. The more involved people are in the process of change, the more effective the change will be and the more lasting it will be for the company Good leaders today enhance their ability to influence their subordinates in order to facilitate efficient decision making process within the organization. This means enhanced strategies in motivating and influencing employees to achieve their tasks. The core need for good leaders is to have the ability to communicate well with employees their roles in the accomplishment of organizational goals and targets. There are lots of valuable leadership forms in the book which many leaders could use. They represent the most effective and the least effective leadership strategy. The issues of motivation are also delved into in the book and this is the prime mover for many workers. Workers need affirmation that what they are doing is correct and exceptional. The inability of the leader to convey the message that job is well done only demoralizes them. This invokes feelings of uselessness and diminishing self-worth eventually giving no incentive to perform a good job anymore. To be extremely coercive is not an effective communication tool for workers would not be able to confirm their role in the over-all design to achieve the goals. The authors end the book with the Leadership Practices Inventory which was developed to empirically measure the conceptual framework developed in the case studies of managers’ personal best experiences as leaders. This puts a nail in the many concepts that they posit in the entire book. Today, there are researches that investigate how the inventory is related to other independent measures of managerial effectiveness.

Messages In The Songs Of Female Rappers Cultural Studies Essay

Messages In The Songs Of Female Rappers Cultural Studies Essay Rap is considered to be a type of music which serves as a means of expression for those who feel alienated and outraged in American society for certain reasons. According to many scholars hip hop in America originated from disadvantaged neighborhoods and served as a voice for people of who lacked post secondary education and had difficulties in finding a job in the new post-industrial service sector economy.  [1]  In the early beginning rap artists rapped about poverty, racism and injustice. As the genre was developing, rappers would look for inspiration in other aspects of their every life. Male/female relationships would appear as a common motif in their songs. As discussed in the first chapter misogynistic messages could be found in a great share of male rap hits. Although rap has been associated mainly as domain of men, female contribution to this genre is also significant. Hence it is worth to examine how their legacy contributed to the black female image in the United State s. It is also important to note how the messages in their songs differed from those of male rap artists. In this chapter I am going to focus on the motifs of black female identity which permeated the lyrics of female rap hits starting from the late eighties through the beginning of the twenty first century. I will support my analysis by referring to the works of literary black hip hop culture critics such as Tricia Rose, bell hooks, Gwendolyn D. Pough or Cheryl L. Keyes. The findings presented in this study will be based on the existing researches on the subject as well as my lyric interpretation of Billboards Hot Rap Year End Charts. One of the recognized social theorists, Patricia Hill Collins, set the theory that much of the contemporary social phenomena is understood and analyzed from the European, white male standpoint  [2]  Moreover, by this approach black women in particular have been perceived as non-human, commodified and objectified.  [3]  Needless to say it is important to counterbalance this approach by interpreting black womens lives from their perspective. I find artistic works of female rappers, as well as their interviews to a be a great source for such a counter analysis. Female rap artists would oftentimes identify themselves as belonging to a certain crew or would use the words as fly, attitude, queen, diva while describing or referring to one another. Based on those self imposed labels Cheryl L. Keyes in her study distinguished four prevailing types of female rappers: Queen Mother, Fly Girl, Sista with Attitude and Lesbian. These categories reflect certain images, voices and ages of Afr ican American women.  [4]  Interestingly enough rappers assigned to these groups marked their presence on the hip hop scene in this particular order but, as Keyes noted, they can swing between these teams or belong to a few concurrently. According to Keyes, the first group Queen Mothers consist mainly of early female rap pioneers in the 80s such as: Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shante or MC Lyte. They express strong connection to their African heritage by calling themselves Nubian queens, and wearing ethnic clothes and jewelry. The symbol of queen mother may be supposedly rooted in African court tradition. Mothers of kings in many African kingdoms used to be cult objects and granted special privileges.  [5]  Queen Mothers in hip hop culture also consider themselves as strong, intelligent black women responsible of spreading the word among the community. They discuss issues similar to their male counterparts marginalization, subjugation, and hardship of an urban life.  [6]  A theme for their concern would be also heterosexual advances of men toward women, as well as domestic violence, and male sexism. These female rappers tended to present black women as self assured and independent in their songs.  [7]   Similarly to male rappers they would aim to challenge racist white supremacy by their music. Whilst black males in order to empower themselves oftentimes resort to sexist notions addressed towards their female counterparts, Queen Mothers do not apply the same strategy of subordination. As the excerpts from the songs presented in the first chapter show, many male hip hop artists depict women merely as sexual objects and generally cast derogatory light on them. Some black culture critics, as bell hooks, claim that male gangsta rappers engage in this behavior because women supposedly emasculate black men, negating their manhood and reducing the respect received from others.  [8]  The critic also states that most black males lack of strong male (father) models to look up to. They are being convinced throughout their childhood that they are not destined to grow up as successful, strong, virtuous males. Instead they receive education how to become emotionless thugs. The author blames t he mass media for perpetuating the image of a strong, angry black woman as opposed to black castrated male who is not able to provide for his family.  [9]  Other reason for that may be the fear of female sexuality, thus women must be controlled. Queen Mothers demand respect not only for black community in general but for black women in particular. This causes a huge inner identity conflict among black women, whether to be loyal to your ethnicity and race or gender. Extending the theory of black feminism to rap, black female rappers provide back lashing voices against male sexism and misogyny.  [10]  However being a black feminist should not mean rejection of the African heritage. The African legacy may be utilized as an additional source of strength and power in this struggle. Tricia Rose in the her book, Black Noise, argues that in the late 1980s and early 1990s pioneer female rappers although refraining from calling themselves feminist, expressed three feminist standpoints: female empowerment, agency, and independence. They would rather call themselves womanists as they did not feel much connection with the predominantly white second wave feminism movement. Moreover, they felt as having been overlooked or even purposel y excluded by white feminists in their struggle for female empowerment.  [11]  These artists rejected and challenged representations of women as simply sexual objects. Rose states that these artists use rap music as a platform of dispute between other female and male artists, and their audience in general.  [12]   The most noticeable Queen Mother on the hip hop scene is Dana Queen Latifah Owens. Although latifah in Arabic means feminine, delicate and kind she proved to be also a strong and influential rap artist. At the young age of twenty one, she became well acclaimed artist. Despite her young age, her maternal behavior and mature approach to life made her to be perceived as a Queen Mother. Although she would find such comparison flattering, she tried to distance herself from being labeled. She would call herself a queen because every black female is a queen to her.  [13]  The reason why Queen Latifah and other rappers have been allocated to the group of Queen Mothers may be linked to the othermothers phenomenon in black African community. Patricia Hill Collins elaborates on this notion in Black Feminist Thought. She claims that black women take a significant part in fostering of the black society in the United States. They have developed an image of a strong black woman who contribute t o the whole black community well-being. The notion of motherhood in general, whether invoked by bloodmothers or othermothers, has powerful connotation.  [14]  It seems that African American community seeks for strong mother figures not only in real life but also on the hip hop scene. Queen Latifah reflects the image of othermother by taking up serious political-economic issues of the black community in her lyrics, as in The Evil that Men Do  [15]  where she raps about struggle of women on welfare.  [16]   Another example of a strong political commentary is Queen Latifahs song Ladies First.  [17]  She focuses here on promoting womens importance and clamors for their equal treatment. She raps about the need for sisterhood which prompts women to support each other. The notion of sisterhood is emphasized here by the fact that the artist collaborates with another black European female rapper, Monie Love. They feel connected with each other by the bonds of the same gender and race. This is a typical approach of women of color engaged in the Third Wave Feminist Movement in America. The concept of global sisterhood coined by the Second Wave feminists is questioned and challenged here. Black feminists manifest more connection with other women of color from different countries or countries of their origin than with white middle class women from the United States. The video to this song is also a tribute to African American womens history featuring images of activists and abolitionists as Ro sa Parks, Angela Davis, Harriet Tubman, or entrepreneurs as Madame C.J. Walker.  [18]  The video also features the image of Winnie Mandela which may serve as a commemoration of the struggle against segregation in South Africa as well as emphasis on the concept of global black sisterhood. The rappers bring back these images into the light in order to re-inspire all women of color and prove they are capable of achieving the highest goals as breaking the racism and sexism. Queen Latifah in her Grammy Award- winning song U.N.I.T.Y, as one of the first female artists not only proves of her rapping skills but also takes up the issues which divide black community. She focuses here on perpetuated hatred directed by black males toward black females.  [19]  She answers back to males who use the insult bitch in reference to women. She does so by using similar forms that are used by many of their male counterparts to denigrate women. For instance, by the use of vulgar language she reclaims those forms for women. Another pioneer rapper, MC Lyte in her song Paper Thin also makes a black female as a subject. She brings it to the center of discussion by rapping about the constrains of her intimacy and setting the rules by which she will date a man. According to Rose, the above mentioned artists messages are both emancipating and liberating for women. They rebel against the restrain of black female voices, offering counter hegemonic perspectives. Female gangsta rappers in particular, have created and imposed their own definitions of womanhood through their use of vulgarity, voice intonations, and sexuality.  [20]   Although most female rappers identify themselves by belonging to specific rap crews some of them would fall from one category to another or exist in many simultaneously. As an example of such a swinging artist may serve Yo Yo. The rapper and activist when perceived through the prism of her artistic and social work would be allocated to the group of queen mothers. Her songs are devoted to her view on the political issues and black feminism. She is the founder of the group Intelligent Black Women Coalition (I.BW.C.) which aimed to fight against racism and sexism. Yet, Keyes claims that her style and attire would suggest she also fits the category of so called Fly Girls who gained recognition on hip hop scene mainly in the nineties. The origin of the new meaning of the word fly dates back to the sixties and seventies and describes someone wearing fancy clothes. The style has been presented in the blaxploitation movies like The Superfly (1972), Shaft (1971), The Mack (1973) or Foxy Brow n (1974) and then adopted by the black youth in the eighties and nineties.  [21]  Indeed, what distinguished Fly Girls from Queen Mothers at first sight was their sense of fashion. Queen Mothers tried to affirm their eroticism that refrains from the nakedness and exposure of Western styles by rejection of miniskirts or high heels. Fly Girls did not fear to wear tight clothes which accentuated their sexuality. They tried to counterbalance western European beauty canon by showing the beauty of black female body, accompanied by eye catching hairstyles, shiny jewelry and suggestive dancing. By doing so they made a statement against the white supremacist stereotype of the black round female body being undesirable. It was their fashion style that made them not only heard but also visible. The male hip hop group the Boogie Boys describe a fly girl as: [Woman] who wants to see her name, her game or her ability. . . she sports a lot of gold, wears tight jeans, leather miniskirts, a made up face, has voluptuous curves, but speaks her mind.  [22]   The most prolific and well pronounced Fly Girls of hip hop scene is undoubtedly the trio Salt- N- Pepa. They aspired to be acknowledged as models of real independent and successful black women of the nineties.  [23]  They reached the peak of their popularity in the early nineties by releasing controversial hits like Lets Talk About Sex (1991), What a Man(1993), or Shoop(1993). While the first mentioned hit raised awareness about safe sex, the other songs can be interpreted as manifestation on female sexuality and appraisal of men in terms of friendship, love and intimate heterosexual relations. Lyrics from their popular song Aint Nuthin But a She Thing, again typify messages of their powerful womanhood: Im a female, and I got it goin on /Dont be fooled by my s-e-x/It aint that simple, Im more complex/Lets keep moving forward, girls, never look back.  [24]  In this song artists are exchanging ideas with women and men in general, warning men not to rely on clichà ©d notions of gender roles when interacting with women. They refuse to be considered as a weaker sex. They prove of their ability to work as hard as men, yet their intention is not to empower, or emasculate men. Similarly, they are passing on the same message to women while concurrently urging these women to progress, not regress, in their thinking and behavior. Such messages permeate most of the Salt N- Pepa top hits. Many examples of the Fly Girls songs take focus on female agency in male/female relationships perceived from the womens point of view. In the chorus of her song, Whats Up Star, Suga initiates the interaction with males: Whats up star, Id like to get to know who you are/Lets have drinks at the bar/And if I like what I see then the drinks is on me.  [25]  While men are usually considered to be the initiators in heterosexual relationships, here the artist takes it over and demonstrates her empowerment on this field. By doing so she violates an unwritten procedure of male-female courtship. She breaches the gendered norm of conduct. Instead of waiting for a man to approach her with an offer to buy her a drink, she would rather sit in judgment and contemplate over possible suitors. Upon positive evaluation of a potential mate she offers to buy him a drink. Another example of assuming power comes from a rapper and bass dancer, MC Luscious, who in her song Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend seiz es another hypothetical womens partner: Ill take him, shake him, ring him out/ Ill show your man what its all about./ So when he tells you its the end./Thats when you know I got your boyfriend.  [26]  Her use of the verbs take, shake, and ring in reference to her male lover illustrates the control that she maintains over him. She outdoes her female competitor by articulating her ability to sexually expose what the girlfriend cannot to the boyfriend, leading to the termination of the relationship. Thus, she demonstrates her control and manipulation of the lover and eventually her supremacy over the female opponent by stealing her boyfriend. Although deceitful and potentially unethical, MC Lusciouss desires, and behaviors are at the core of attention in her song.  [27]   Another significant group of Fly Girls worth noticing is TLC ( Tione T-Boze Watkins, Lisa Left-Eye Lopez and Rozonda Chilli Thomas). Their popularity had been quickly developing since their debut in 1991 and reached its maximum in the second half of the nineties. They spread similar messages to the other Fly Girls like rising awareness about safe sex (Waterfalls)  [28]  or fighting with women insecurity (Unpretty)  [29]  . They also introduced more diverse fashion sense. Instead of accentuating their fit bodies with tight clothes, they would wear baggy pants as a symbol of solidarity with women of less flattering shapes. Similar approach was taken by another Fly Girl Missy Misdemeanor Elliot. Being a successful writer and producer paved her way to the enormous success in the music industry. In no time she was offered a possibility to launch her clothing line and appeared in GAP and Adidas commercials. The fact that full-figured Missy became a model of the established clothing brand could be perceived as ground breaking in the sphere of perception of black female bodies. She serves as a role model to many black women who doubt in their attractiveness.  [30]   As during the late nineties rap became commercialized, gained greater audience and shifted to mainstream it is worth examining what were the messages conveyed by the female rappers. During this time some female artists were as popular and selling as many records as men; for example, Lil Kim and Foxy Brown both had albums that sold one million copies.  [31]  Contemporary female rappers of the late nineties and beginning of the twenty first century also endeavor in empowering and subversive mission against male domination, but the lyrical content of their songs show surprising and alarming similarities between them and male rappers. This may be one of the reasons these female rappers gained more commercial recognition than the pioneers. As means of empowerment they apply the strategy of giving the attitude and answering back in a rude manner to their male counterparts. This group of female rappers fall into category of Sistas with Attitude which consist of such popular rappers as F oxy Brown, Lil Kim, and Da Brat, or Sis, or Eve. The characteristic of their style is the employment of the same symbolic speech and behaviors as their male fellow rappers. It may seem that by doing so they show to be equal to men on every level. The lyrics of their songs included motives of indulging in hedonistic activities as partying and smoking marijuana with their men, seducing, harassing, and sexually emasculating male characters; as well as disrespecting (dissin) their male and female counterparts. Although so called dissing in female rappers songs is mainly directed at male sexism, an analysis of contemporary female rap songs reveals that there are instances the same strategy is aimed at women. It is well visible here that these women seek for their self empowerment by all means. The content of songs with attitude is abundant in vulgarity. The use of derogatory terms may be interpreted in a positive way. I trace some similarities between Sistas with Attitude and some of the Third Wave of feminism representatives. Similarly to them, female rappers reversed the pejorative meaning of vulgar words addressed to women.Sistas may be considered a coarser, clad version of Third Wave of feminism Girlies or Riot Grrls. These were usually members of underground punk bands who addressed issues as rape, female sexuality, domestic abuse, and female empowerment. Same as Sistas they also adopted derogatory, insulting words as cunt bitch slut in their vernacular. By writing these words on their skins or t-shirts they ridiculed and nullified their derogatory meaning.  [32]  On one hand reclamation of the frequently used word bitch may be perceived as positive way of self empowerment or provide healing liberation. Other critics claim that this may bring worse returns as the message of female empowerment seem to be diminished and eradicated by female self-objectification.  [33]   One of the most reoccurring motives found in female rap lyrics is their swaggering feminine self assurance. This characteristic of rap has its roots in part of African-American oral tradition of toasting , where the toast-teller employs in verbal self- enhancement, and presents himself or herself as the dreams of his [or her] Black audience and symbolize for them triumph and accomplishment against the odds.  [34]  For instance, in Sittin on Top of the World, Da Brat writes: Im on top of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/Girlfriend offender cuz they mans think Im all that/ One of the baddest bitches on the planet.  [35]  She highlights how she is so bad, meaning great to such extent that she aggravates other women because their men find her beautiful. Another fitting example of braggadocio can be found in Eves song What Ya Want,  [36]  writing Popular since I started my lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/ Every thugs dream wife, see the love in they eyes/My time to shine, whole package make her a dime. In these lyrics, the rapper is presenting herself as popular, and good-looking to every male and a perfectly shaped physically ( adime in hip hop vernacular). Many rapper enhance their sense of attractiveness by emphasizing their possession of precious objects that others cannot afford. Foxy Brown, who adopted her moniker from the seventies blaxploitation movie protagonist of the same title, in Ill Na Na raps: Uhh, rollin for Lana, dripped in Gabbanaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/And yall gon see by these mils I possess/Never settle for less, Im in excess.  [37]  Foxy highlights here the fact that she wears expensive womens designer clothing that working class and middle-class individuals could not afford. Furthermore, the audience gets the message that Foxy earns millions of dollars from her rapping. She also admits she is not willing to settle down and start a family but would rather live in abundance of material goods on her own. A vast majority of the female artists mentioned owning luxurious products of mass consumption. Obviously, possession of extravagant material goods are crucial for many contemporary female artists. Material success, fame, and sexual satisfaction is their achieved American Dream. Similarly to male rap artists who glamorize life a of a pimp, these female artists present themselves as physically attractive to possible mates as well as in possession of goods that regular people do not and cannot acquire. This type and degree of overconfidence permeates throughout rap music and is common to both sexes of rappers. It illustrates artists abilities, or their dreams, to overcome obstacles (unattractiveness, lack of money) and eventually achieve (sexual and material) success. The partying, alcohol and drugs abuse is a frequent theme also in Sistas with Attitude rap music. In the overall sample in Owares study of 44 female hip hop songs of the nineties, in each song there was an average of one-and a-half references made to alcohol or drugs.  [38]  For instance, in her song Deeper, rapper called Boss refers to both alcohol and drug use. In these lyrics, Boss is indulging in a popular malt liquor, and also smokes chronic, a strong form of marijuana mixed cocaine. Another song by Queen Pen, Party Aint a Party, presents: Im tipsy from the cab, down the whole bottle of Henney/ Is you dealing with the cat thats blunted. Queen Pens alcohol is Seagrams Hennessy and blunted means being under the influence of marijuana. These female rappers refute the stereotype that women refrain from hard alcoholic drinks and illegal drugs.. These women depict themselves as being equal to men by engaging in similar potentially harmful behaviors.  [39]   Another feature of rap music that is often taken up by female rappers is disrespecting or dissin, which is the act of verbally insulting an opponent. Dissin allegedly has its origins in West Africa, among tribes such as the Efik in Nigeria and later could be found in early African-American oral traditions.  [40]  Smitherman writes women rule when it comes to signifyingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦female rappers use this age-old rhetorical strategy to launch critical offensivesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [41]  Traces of such style can be found in the verse rapped by Heather B.: Fuck how much you sell cause, I read your album cover/You couldnt write a jam if your last name was Smucker.  [42]  As jam may also mean a hit song she ridicules here the amount of records sold by her opponent while dissing his writing skills contrasting them with a popular food product brand Smuckers Jam. Most disrespecting attitudes were pointed at males who attempted to pursue women with pretentious tales of sexual gratification. While some rappers resorted to warning of the potential suitor who must approach them in a courteous manner or gets rejected, other rappers would openly ridicule males sex skills and their fear of womens sexuality. Considered to be one of the most overt and explicit rappers, Lil Kim in Hardcore rhymes: The sex was wack, a four stroke creepà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦/(later he asked) Could he come over right fast and fuck my pretty ass?/Ill pass, nigga dick was trash.  [43]  The rapper sets here her own conditions for a sexual intercourse. She keeps men under control and reserves the right to choose her partner by assessing his sex skills. She also implies what is surely feared by most of the heterosexual males to be ridiculed by a woman for poor sex performance. Black males in particular who have been trying to conceal the image of an emasculated black man may fee l highly sensitive about it. As many instances of male rap hits presented in the first chapter show that they tried to apply many strategies to regain their control over women. Boasting about their sexual hyper skills was a frequent topic. Gangsta Boo, a successful Sista with Attitude of the late nineties and early twenty first century, touches upon similar themes in her lyrics: Ha-ha, hey, Ladies check this out/ Well, let me tell this story about this nigga/ With a little dick but when its hard, hes swearin it (is) bigger/ Im not to be the one guess you aint got much to offer.  [44]  Here, Gangsta Boo speaks directly to women about false male machismo. Boo, similarly to her counterpart Lil Kim sets the norms here and evaluates whether her possible mate lives up to her expectations. When finds out that the man is poorly endowed she ridicules him in front of other women. Hence, as Rose writes you have women speaking to men, engaging in critiques of supposed male sexual prowess; in addition, they are speaking to other women about the failed attempts of these men to satisfy them sexually.  [45]  These disses provide a female response to male rappers chauvinism, misogyny and bragging about their sexual potency. Similarly empowering themes also permeate throughout the songs and lyrics that present female sexuality. Several popular female rap artists depicted themselves as explicitly sexualized. Lil Kim in one of her songs vulgarly demonstrates her acting upon a partner and presents herself as not submissive in sexual relationship.  [46]

Gender Inequality in Business

Gender Inequality in Business In todays business world, there has been a lot of change in the number of women participating in the labor force. For the past years, the number of women in the workforce rises dramatically. Unfortunately, women are still being treated lower than men when comparing their wages, and gender inequalities in the workplace have been very considerable. Women continue to earn considerably less than men, even though they are in the same occupations as men. Most of them dont have convincing reason why they are paying less to women; the only reason clarification that can be given for this income gap is discrimination. Gender preconceptions in the workplace are erroneous assumptions and should not be continued because women are just as efficient as men are in doing a task and gender equality is beneficial to workplaces. As a female myself, I genuinely advise women to prepare to address the challenges and prepare to meet a few challenges to their success. In recent decades, women have graduated from college in greater numbers than men. Therefore, it would seem that there are women who are as qualified as men if not more. Women should not be treated as less than men, mainly when they have the same potential and knowledge to do work as the men. According to a 2015 study by Institution For Womens Policy Research showed that, on average, female full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent. This record seems unfavorable for women when both males and females are doing the same amount of work for the workplace. I personally think that to have women who get paid less than men is illogical, acknowledging the fact that women are earning more degrees. I think the gender discrimination in the workplace is not only leaving women jobless, but also affecting the business that could gain more benefit from educated and passionate women. Gender inequality in the workplace is the main reasons why womens jobs often have lower pay and status. Women are less probably to have higher paying professional, technical, and managerial jobs. Women usually have a much greater representation in secretarial and service positions. They outnumbered men in office jobs in, even though a relatively small percentage of women are in the labor force. For so many reason women are less likely to be promoted to the job with a higher wage, even if they are qualified the same as the men. Part of this inequity is accounted for by the responsibilities that women have at home. Family and home commitments often limit the time, and energy women can devote to work, which makes them appear less committed or competent than men, who can spend more time at their jobs. To start a new job with gender inequality in the workplace could significantly affect womens motivation to achieve their task in a correct way. I advise to women beginning a career in business to develop negotiation skills stand to speak out against the gender discrimination for their benefit and others. As an employee, they should have to understand the law in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace. An example is an equal pay, discrimination based on their gender. Negotiation is a part of daily life whether we are aware of it or not, we all negotiate for the thing we want. For example, people may negotiate to get higher salaries, better service, and for so many different reasons. In most case women afraid to negotiate, because they believe that there will be a social backlash against them. However, negotiation skills help to ensure that all parties are equally advantaged from the inequality that occurs. Always women have to prepare for any negotiation. One of the keys to any negotiation is to do research on the issue in order to develop your strategy. I advise that women should improve their negotiating skills by practicing objectivity. I encourage women to do some research about the job that gets offered before they accept the job. We all know many companies pays less money for women than men for doing the same job. First, research the market and be aware what your skills and knowledge are worth. The more knowledge or information you get from you research will help to you to decide wisely and will also give you the chance to become a better negotiator. The second thing I would like to advise is to speak out loud against the gender discrimination. I believe women are naturally gifted for networking and skilled in building communities. Today, many people use social media for different purposes, and it seems to play a crucial part of peoples lives around the world. I think many women can use the social media to promote the discrimination and business at lower cost with high target impact. In conclusion, gender inequalities in workplaces are rough in contemporary society and are illogical. Numerous studies support that women are capable of doing a task as well as a male can, and even performing better than them. There are so many reasons that show that the issue of gender discrimination in the workplace is significant and negatively impacting. One of the disadvantages working in a place with gender inequality could have a high impact on womens motivation. Second, gender discrimination or inequality in the workplace could affect the effectiveness of the companys corporate. Therefore, to solve gender discrimination in the workplace, everyone has to take responsibility. Womens have to develop their negotiation skill and to speak out loud for their right. Further, Companies should give the opportunities equally to everyone without any isolation.

In-Depth Look at Viaggio in Ponente written by Domenico Laffi Essay exa

An In-Depth Look at Viaggio in Ponente written by Domenico Laffi Many of the gaps in the historical record of human civilization have been filled in by journals written by people about the events surrounding them. Such journals give a unique view into the life of an everyday person even in the most extreme of circumstances. An example of this is the log kept by Domenico Laffi, which he wrote as a travel guide for other pilgrims in the seventeenth century. Among the common events of river crossings and wells tucked away on high mountain peaks, Laffi writes a detailed description of cities, holy rights and the scientific and technological works he encounters during his travels. Laffi's record of his travels is very important to the understanding of how pilgrims themselves were the main means of information exchange at a time when most cities were isolated from one another. In order to put Laffi's experiences into perspective one must understand a bit about the man. Laffi was a priest in Bologna, Italy. Laffi never had his own parish, instead his passion was for traveling and he made the pilgrimage from Italy to Santiago de Compostela, Spain three times in his life. In addition to these journeys, he also made pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Lisbon. In his journal it is quickly apparent that his status as a priest gives him great advantages in education as well as the way in which he was treated, over his fellow pilgrims. An example of how differently he was treated occurs when Laffi and his companion join up with another pilgrim known only as "the Roman." The Roman is a more ordinary sort of pilgrim and must often stay in hostels with little food while Laffi and companion are entertained by Lords, Canons and other such nobility. Wh... ...oo went on pilgrimage. Laffi's journal is important both in the context of his time as well as in the context of our own. He relates his travels as a guide to his fellow pilgrims, but the guide is also rich with information that the average person of his time did not have access to. His guide is an important source of information to modern historians in recreating the past from a more personal as well as a more scientific point of view. Laffi's journal truly demonstrates how a person can become information just as a signpost becomes the information written upon it. Notes 1. A Braccio was a unit of measure usually equaling 55cm. Works Cited Laffi, Domenico. A Journey West; The Diary of a Seventeenth-Century Pilgrim from Bologna to Santiago de Compostela. Trans. James Hall. Leiden, The Netherlands: Primavera Pers. 1997. Trans. of Viaggio in Ponente.

Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

The Grapes of Wrath, chronicles the Joad’s family exodus from Oklahoma to California in search for a brighter, economic future. The name Joad and the exodus to California is parallel to the Biblical story of Exodus and the character Job, but at the time was depicting the Okie Exodus. The Okies were farmers whose topsoil blew away due to dust storms and were forced to migrate along Route 66 to California in search of work. The Okies were resented for migrating in large numbers to areas in the West where work was already hard to find and the sudden multitude of workers caused wages to be lowered. The Joad’s reside in Oklahoma, referred to as the â€Å"Dust Bowl† of the U.S. because of its lack of rain. The story takes place during the late 1930’s when the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. The Joad family were sharecroppers evicted from their homes because they failed to pay the bank their loan payments to the Shawnee Land and Cattle Company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On their journey, the Joad’s ran into a returning migrant from California who tells them that the handbill they have looking for 800 pickers is a bunch of hogwash. He’d rather starve in Oklahoma then starve in California. The migrant scolds them on their naivety saying â€Å"Now, how many of you all got them handbills?...(The men respond that they all have them) There you are, same yellow handbill. 800 Pickers Wanted. All right, the man wants 800 men, so he prints 5,000 handbills and maybe 20,000 people see 'em. And maybe two or three thousand people start West on account of that handbill. Two or three thousand people that are crazy with worry headin' out for 800 jobs. Now does that make sense?† He tells them that the growers are exploiting them, causing a surplus of workers to drive down labor costs according to supply and demand. The significance of his role in the movie, is that he let’s the Joad’s know everything they are moving West for is false. Their journey is based on a lie, and the grass isn’t greener on the other side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While stopping for gas, Mr. Joad heads into the diner to buy a loaf of bread. Mr. Joad is a nickel short of the 15 cents that the bread cost, and against the waitresses opinion the chef tells her to sell it to him for a dime.

Breaking Family Ties

Thai Ngo Barbara Estermann English 96 February 25, 2013 â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† Norman Rockwell’s â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† gives us a look into the change of the post Great Depression and World War II generation. How America itself had changed so much in the passed 25 years from the greatest economic depression to being the greatest country on earth. It also shows the heartbreaking moment of a boy preparing to leave his father and dog and be on his own for the first time.The father, tired from a life of hard works, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college; the young man, representing the post Great Depression and World War II generation, is making a better life than what his father had by getting higher education. In Norman Rockwell’s painting â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†, a boy sits with his father and dog preparing to leave for college. The young man and his father sit on a board of the family farm truck. At the bottom corner of the painting, shows a single rail. Suggesting that they are waiting for a train. On the ground is the son’s suitcase with a â€Å"State U† sticker.Books are stacked on top of the suitcase. The young man has his tie and socks perfectly matched, and is wearing white trouser and matching jacket. Sitting with his hand folded, the young man looked eagerly toward the train track, ready for the next chapter in his life. His father; however, sits slumped with his and his son’s hats in his hand as if he didn’t want the son to leave. The father looked at the opposite direction of the rail; as if he didn’t want to see the train come and take his son away. Although the father and son are looking in opposite direction, the sense of family bond is still strong.The father, probably in his late fifty, has been through the Great Depression and World War II; values his family more. The generation coming out of the Depression and World War II has been through some of the greatest challenges this country had ever faced. They worked hard their whole life, and now all they want is for their children to have a better life than they. Norman Rockwell perfectly describe the generation shift in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† as the father, old beyond his years, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college.He does not want to see his son leave, because he is everything to him. Still, he knows that his son must leave to grow up and be independent. The son, treated like royalty by the father, is ready to move on to the next chapter in his life and be away from the protection of his father. The painting gives mix emotion because of the two different emotions of the main characters. Norman Rockwell shows the differences between the two-generation through the father and son. The experience of leaving you’re parents and being on your own is universal to everyone.The universal message in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† is being inde pendent for the first time. I was seventeen when I left home by myself to go to college. Preparing to leave home, I was like the boy in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† eager to move on to the next chapter in my life and to be independent. I was only thinking of myself, and not how leaving would affect my parents. My parents were sad to see me leave, but they knew that I was making a better life for myself by going to college. Just like the Father in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†. Leaving home for me was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.While for my parents, it was seeing me grow up too fast. Norman Rockwell’s perfectly showed the heartbreaking moment and a son leaving to be on his own for the first time. He also reminded America of how much our country had changed with the two generations. Like all of Norman Rockwell’s works, everything in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† has a meaning behind it. Which is I can relate to it even if it was painted yea rs before I was born. Norman Rockwell is one of America greatest artist because of the universal meanings behind his works.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Essay

The pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) represent a spectrum of difficulties in socialization, communication, and behavior. Autism is the best recognized and most frequently occurring form of a group of the PDDs. Because most of the research in areas related to communication has been done on autism, we will focus here on this particular PDD. However, we should be aware that autism is probably not the most common disorder on this spectrum. Other types of PDDs include Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or PDDNOS (Twachtman-Cullen 1998). This work will also discuss the distinctive features of Asperger’s syndrome, which is believed to be genetically related to autism. Much of what can be said about certain features of autism and PDDNOS applies to other forms of non-autistic PDD. The goal of this research is to provide a framework for understanding cognitive development in children with PDDs. The study will cover criteria for early PDDs diagnosis. The best-known type of PDDs is autistic disorder (variously called autism or infantile autism). The symptoms of autistic disorder typically increase gradually through the child’s second year, reach a peak between 2 and 4 years of age, and then show some improvement. Young children with greater cognitive ability who receive very early intensive intervention may show dramatic improvement at this age, whereas those who are more impaired will make more modest changes. Persons with autistic disorder exhibit major deficits in their ability to relate to others. The child with autistic disorder often appears content to dwell in a separate world, showing little empathic interest in parents or siblings. Unlike the normally developing baby, the child with autistic disorder may not raise his arms to be picked up or may stiffen in protest when his parents try to cuddle him. The children’s lack of social interest may make some of these babies seem like â€Å"easy babies† because they do not seek parental attention, and appear content to remain in their cribs, watching a mobile or staring at their hands. As they get older, such lack of demandingness is recognized for the relative indifference it actually reflects. The child with autistic disorder may not seek others for comfort when she is hurt or upset, finding little consolation in the gentle words and hugs that are so important to other children. Not only do the children not ask for comfort, they typically are quite indifferent to other people’s distress and do not seem to share their joy. A sibling’s tears or a parent’s happiness may elicit no response from the child with autistic disorder. Children with autistic disorder show little interest in the domestic imitation that most children enjoy. For example, unlike the normally developing child, the child with autistic disorder usually does not use his miniature mower to cut the grass like mommy or pretend to shave while he watches daddy. This lack of interest in imitation interferes with one of the primary channels for learning by young children: their ability to model adult behaviors and master them through role play. Social play is one of the primary activities of childhood. A few simple toys can create the backdrop for long hours of companionship. The child with autistic disorder does not know how to join this kind of play, sometimes completely ignoring other children, or perhaps standing on the sidelines, not comprehending how to become part of the group. Not surprisingly, given the range of social deficits they exhibit, children with autistic disorder are very impaired in their ability to make childhood friends. Within the communication domain, impairments are present in a number of linguistic and nonverbal areas, the most fundamental of which are pragmatics and semantics (i. . , the social usage and explicit or implicit meaning of language and gestures). Although linguistic capability varies greatly across the spectrum (from a total absence of speech to highly sophisticated and erudite language), significant impairments in pragmatics and semantics are universal among individuals with PDDs. They communicate primarily to express needs, desires, and preferences, rather than to convey sincere interest in others, or to share exp eriences, excitement, and feelings. Even among those possessing highly sophisticated and complex language, compliments, words of empathy, and expressions of joy in the good fortune of others are very rare. There is little reciprocity, mutuality, or shared purpose in discussions. In addition, speech and gestural forms of communication are poorly integrated, often resulting in awkward and uncomfortable social interactions. Implicit, subtle, and indirect communications are neither used nor perceived. Expressive communication tends to be explicit, direct, and concrete. During discussions, persons with autism often fail to prepare their speaking partners for conversational transitions, new topics, or personal associations. This can result in digressive, circumstantial, and tangential comments and discussions. It would appear as though persons with autism assume that others are implicitly aware of their experiences, viewpoints, attitudes, and thoughts. The fashion in which these deficits are manifest is influenced by age, overall cognitive level, temperament, and the presence of sensory or physical limitations. In toddlers, for example, impaired pragmatics may be manifested by significant limitations in reciprocal eye contact, responsive smiling, joint attention (mutual sharing of interests and excitement), and social imitative play. In addition, socially directed facial expressions, instrumental and emphatic gestures, and modulation of speech prosody (intonation, cadence, and rate) are rarely used to complement speech, communicate feelings and attitudes, or moderate social discourse. Among preschool children, impairments in symbolic functioning (e. g. , language) are accompanied by serious limitations in pretense (e. g. ymbolic, imaginative, creative, and interactive play). Pragmatic impairments among adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome may be manifested by one-sided, pedantic discussions, with no attempt to involve speaking partners by acknowledging and integrating their experiences, ideas, and viewpoints into conversations. Sincere attempts by others to engage in reciprocal conversations may be met with a lack of acknowledgment, annoyance, and disinterest. Comments or questions that are â€Å"snuck in† by the listener may be experienced as rude interruptions, prompting the directive, â€Å"Wait! I’m not done talking yet† (Bernabei, Camaioni & Levi 1998). The result is a monologue or lecture that often includes abrupt changes of topic and the introduction of unexplained personal associations. This lack of conversational reciprocity suggests that persons with AS and high-functioning autism inherently assume that the listener is implicitly aware of their own experiences, viewpoints, and intent. Because the relaying of factual and concrete information is the primary goal of â€Å"social† dialog among those with ASD, the communication of subtle attitudes, viewpoints, and emotions (particularly secondary emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, and envy) are largely irrelevant and superfluous. Therefore, emphatic gestures, informative facial expressions, and vocal modulation lack essential meaning for them. The result is that persons with autism generally disregard nonverbal cues and fail to incorporate them into their own discussions. Because this component of social communication often conveys essential information regarding feelings, attitudes, and opinions, an inability to identify, interpret, and produce nonverbal cues can have a highly detrimental effect on social interactions and relationships. Given these impairments, it is not surprising that verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication are poorly integrated, and that subtlety and nuance are rarely conveyed. Figurative and inferential language is another area of communication that is impaired in autism, largely due to a combination of deficits in abstract and conceptual thought, social reciprocity, and appreciation of the subtleties of social communication. Persons with ASD are highly literal and concrete in their language and thought processing, typically failing to understand metaphor, irony, sarcasm, and facetiousness. As a result, comments are often misinterpreted and discussions misunderstood. In addition, in an effort to remain true to the facts, comments and questions are often presented in an overly direct, straightforward, and â€Å"brutally honest† manner, lacking appropriate tact and sensitivity (Szatmari, Jones, Fisman, Tuff, Bartolucci, Mahoney 1995). This can cause embarrassment and distress for the listener and confusion for the speaker with AS. Both may become angry and resentful; the listener, because of emotional distress and perceived mistreatment; the speaker, because of the seemingly unjustifiable overreaction and a negative attitude displayed by the listener. From the perspective of the person with AS, the listener responded in a rude and ungrateful manner to comments that were intended to be informative, useful, and corrective. The emotional distress, embarrassment, and attack on self-esteem experienced by the listener are relatively foreign to the individual with autism. Interestingly, principles, rules, and codes of behavior can be interpreted in a highly concrete and rigid manner. This can result in insensitive and hurtful comments and behavior, because exceptions to the rule, adjustments to unexpected social contingencies, and appreciation for the spirit (not simply the letter) of the law are relatively foreign to those with autism. There is little awareness that rigid adherence to unavoidably flawed rules can result in a situation that is antithetical to the underlying intent of the rule itself. One of the dinning features of autism and Asperger’s syndrome is that of rigidity and inflexibility in response to minor change and transition in the environment and daily routines. This insistence on sameness and invariance can be highly impairing, because the precipitants of these reactions often are of little social significance and do not disturb the smooth functioning of the social world. It is as though persons with autism depend on these inanimate markers of space and time because the social priorities that typically direct schedules and routines have little meaning and significance for them. Asperger’s Syndrome has been associated with cognitive strength since Hans Asperger first described the disorder in the 1940s. When he wrote of children who sounded like â€Å"little professors,† Dr. Asperger (1944/1991) was describing not only their pedantic tone but also their cognitive abilities. The assumption of adequate cognitive skill was reiterated when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) stated that individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome show â€Å"no clinically significant delay in cognitive development† (Willey 2001). Asperger’s syndrome (AS) was added as a new â€Å"official† diagnosis when DSMIV and ICD-10 were published. In the past, children with AS were sometimes referred to as having schizoid personality, or schizotypal personality, and PDD, NOS. It is now recognized as distinct from autism. AS differs from autism in a number of key ways: first, children with AS may not be detected as early because they may have no delays in language, or only mild delays. In fact, it is usually not until parents notice that their child’s use of language is unusual, or their child’s play is also unusual, that concern sets in. Unlike autism, where the vast majority of children also experience some degree of mental retardation, children (and adults) with AS are rarely mentally retarded although many have low-average intelligence. Children with AS are sometimes described as â€Å"active, but odd† – not avoiding others the way autistic children often do, but relating in a more narrow way, usually centering activity around their own needs and peculiar interests. In fact, having one or more areas of narrow, encompassing interest is highly characteristic of those with AS. Parents often ask whether AS is the same thing as â€Å"high-functioning autism. Research studies have addressed this question, and the answer is â€Å"no† (Fombonne, Simmons, Ford, Meltzer & Goodman 2001). One main difference is that children with AS tend to have fairly comparable verbal and nonverbal levels of intelligence, while higher functioning (that is, less cognitively impaired) autistic children tend to have nonverbal IQs that are markedly higher than their verbal IQs. Another key feature of AS is the presence of intense, preoccupying interests that generally are unusual in nature and highly restricted and narrow in scope and breadth. An impressive store of factual knowledge is accrued on relatively esoteric topics; however, this knowledge is rarely utilized for functional, socially meaningful purposes. Rather, factual knowledge is pursued for its own intrinsic value to the AS individual. In addition, children and adults with AS tend to be physically awkward, uncoordinated, and poor in judging visual-spatial perspective (often failing to maintain comfortable interpersonal space during social interactions). With regard to neuropsychological functioning, verbal abilities are generally much better developed than are nonverbal abilities (e. . , perceptualmotor, visual-spatial). In a majority of cases impairments are present in executive functions, including working memory, organization, and cognitive-set flexibility. Although children with AS are thought to show no general cognitive delay, there is actually a great deal of variability in the specific abilities of individuals. In spite of mass media suggestions that individuals with AS grow up to be scientists or software engineers, we do not yet have data to support this connection. For most children, the PDDs last a lifetime. Although early intervention for many young children with autistic disorder, Aspereger’s disorder, and PDDNOS has produced major developmental changes, the technology has not yet reached the point where the majority of children make the degree of change that allows them to blend imperceptibly into their peer group. As a result, although most children with PDDs benefit in important ways from treatment, many still become adults with PDDs or some significant residuals of PDDs. There are no details of what causes PDDs. There appears to be a genetic contribution to at least some kinds of autistic disorder. For example, Fragile X syndrome is a chromosomal disorder than long has been linked to mental retardation and more recently has been shown to be related to autistic disorder. This disorder gets its name from a narrowing near the end of the long arm of the X chromosome that sometimes makes the tip fragile. Fragile X syndrome shows an X-linked (sex gene-linked) recessive pattern of inheritance. As a result, this disorder typically is transmitted to boys by their mothers. Fragile X syndrome accounts for a small but significant number of boys diagnosed with autistic disorder. General support for the notion that the symptoms of autistic disorder reflect underlying physiological dysfunction comes from research showing that autistic disorder occurs more often than would be predicted by chance among children whose mothers had German measles during pregnancy, that these children experienced a higher than expected rate of problems during pregnancy or birth, and that they are at greater risk for seizures than other children. Findings such as these raise important questions about where in the brain abnormalities may occur and how these neurochemical, biochemical, or neurological factors may be linked specifically to the development of the language, social, affective, and behavioral symptoms that characterize autistic disorder and the other PDDs. The process of accurate diagnosis and classification is an essential endeavor in medicine, because it is key to ensuring validity and reliability, enabling etiological research, and identifying effective methods of treatment. Although ASDs are not medical illnesses in the classical sense, they do result from neurodevelopmental abnormalities that affect social, communicative, and behavioral functioning in fundamental ways. The autism is not a unitary condition with a single etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and treatment approach; rather, it is a group of related conditions that share many clinical features and underlying social-communicative impairments. The fundamental purpose of arriving at an accurate diagnosis is to promote meaningful research that will eventually lead to effective treatment and an ultimate cure. Accurate diagnosis also enables investigators, clinicians, educators, and parents to communicate clearly, effectively, and efficiently. Ideally, a valid and reliable diagnosis should convey a great deal of information about developmental strengths and weaknesses, short- and long-term prognosis, and treatments that are most likely to be effective. Both basic and applied research endeavors are enhanced by improvements in diagnosis and classification. During recent years, efforts have been made to identify ASD as early in life as possible, in order to begin implementing educational and treatment interventions; providing families with education, support, and community resources; and reducing the stress and anxiety families experience as a result of incorrect or misleading diagnoses. The importance of an early diagnosis is supported by findings of improved linguistic, cognitive, and adaptive functioning as a result of intensive early intervention. Studies have begun to appear in the research literature assessing the reliability and stability of autism diagnoses made during the early preschool years. Experienced clinical investigators have demonstrated that an accurate diagnosis of autism can be made in the second and third years of life. However, accuracy depends on the completion of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment, one that includes the use of standardized diagnostic instruments in conjunction with clinical expertise. Nonetheless, even among experienced clinicians and investigators, false positive and false negative diagnoses are sometimes made. Investigators have begun to examine clinical variables that may be predictive of treatment response and general prognosis. For example, Handleman & Harris (2001) found that preschool children with autism who exhibited low baseline levels of social avoidance experienced significantly more social and linguistic progress than did their high-avoidance counterparts following 6 months of intensive incidental teaching and pivotal response training (provided in an inclusive setting). A complementary strategy for assessing the validity of AS is to examine the pattern of associated symptomatology. In this regard, a recent study investigated emotional and behavioral disturbance (psychopathology) in 4 to 18-year-olds with HFA and AS. The Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC), an informant-based instrument completed by parents and teachers, was used to assess psychopathology. The DBC contains the following six subscales: disruptive, self-absorbed, communication disturbance, anxiety, antisocial, and autistic relating. Children and adolescents with AS exhibited high levels of psychopathology, particularly disruptive behavior, anxiety, and problems with social relationships. The best documented approach to the treatment of people with PDDs is a form of behavior therapy called applied behavior analysis. Since the mid-1960s, when Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues demonstrated that children with autism responded to carefully planned applied behavior analytic techniques, there has been extensive research on the use of these methods to treat the PDDs, especially for autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and PDDNOS (Durand 1990). Three decades of research have contributed to the development of a substantial array of specific behavioral treatment techniques and of documentation to support the efficacy of these methods in treatment of PDDs. This research also has demonstrated the essential role that parents can play in the treatment of their children by providing consistency of intervention between home and school, or even in some cases as the child’s primary therapist.