A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society Free Essays

string(71) " concern to prevent prison rape and other brutality between prisoners\." Prisoner re-entry is a vitally important issue today which has yet to reach its full impact on the minds and lives of voters. However, with every passing year the importance of this topic becomes more evident. Since the eighties, every passing year has brought more pressure for harsher and longer imprisonment and more streamlined mandatory sentencing rules. We will write a custom essay sample on A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now This has not only resulted in an exploding prison population, but also in a drastic increase in the number of prisoners re-released into communities. Additionally, the push towards more punitive measures has decreased educational opportunities in prisons and the availability of rehabilitation programs. This means that released prisoners are increasingly unable to reintegrate into their communities, increasingly prone to recidivism, and increasingly violent in each release and re-capture cycle. Even the conservative Bush administration has recognized the threat posed by unprepared prisoner re-entry and responded with a series of grants to private and public organizations involved in rehabilitation and easing prisoner transitions. However, merely making government money available to private, religious, or state-based programs is not enough. These funds are only likely to reach a minority of prisoners who are already being aided by the aided programs. Prisoners whose communities and systems do not already take measures to help their rehabilitation will not be seeing any increase in re-entry programs or preparation. A nationwide set of standards is needed to assure that every prisoner eligible for re-release into the community will be inoculated against recidivism and prepared to become a useful part of the society in which they will reside. It is time for the Democratic Party to back away from the conservative model of crime prevention through fear and towards social responsible model of crime prevention through the creation of healthy communities. This can be done in large part by reforming the prison system from a gulag of social control and intimidation into a truly educational experience in which prisoners are put on a moderated track towards social responsibility, respect for the rights of others, and preparation to take a beneficial role in society. Joan Petersilia wrote an insightful book on this subject documenting a series of studies in crime and public policy, When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. After presenting many pages of carefully documented research, Petersilia provided four suggestions for future reform which could drastically reduce recidivism and change returning prisoners from presenting a public threat to being a boon to society. These suggestions were as follows: 1. Alter the in-prison experience. Provide more education, work, and rehabilitation opportunities. Change the prison environment to promote life skills rather than violence and domination. 2. Change prison release and revocation practices. Institute a system of discretionary parole release that incorporates parole release guidelines. These parole guidelines should be based primarily on recidivism prediction. 3. Revise post-prison services and supervision. Incorporate better parole supervision classification systems, and target services and surveillance to those with high need and risk profiles. 4. Foster collaborations with the community and enhance mechanisms of informal social control. Develop partnerships with service providers, ex-convicts, law enforcement, family members, victim advocates, and neighborhoods to support the offender. (Petersilia) These suggestions represent the best Democratic policy towards reform of the prisoner re-entry system. Petersilia’s book on the subject provides documentation about the efficacy of these recommendations and their necessity in the current environment. The remainder of this paper will focus on the precise laws, policies, and programs which may be recommended to promote the implementations of these suggestions. Petersilia’s first recommendation is to alter the in-prison experience. This may not be the immediately evident response to prisoner re-entry, but evidence suggests it may in fact be the most important response. As Petersilia points out in a separate article on the â€Å"Challenges of Prisoner Reentry and Parole in California,† the reason that returning convicts pose such a threat is not merely that they are dangerous criminals returning to the communities that they originally victimized, but that their time in prison has in all likelihood increased the dangers they pose to civilians! It is common knowledge that non-violent and inexperienced criminals entering the prison system are likely to emerge being both violent and experienced due to the brutal conditions that exist in most prisons. Male (and female) rape is extremely common in the prison system, with estimates placed between 13-70% of inmates suffering unwanted sexual conduct. (HRW) Such brutal experiences lead many inmates to experience post traumatic stress disorder, which has been positively linked to increased violent tendencies. The degree of dehumanization and stress common in prison can cause other problems as well. â€Å"Mental illnesses, particularly chronic anxiety and depression, may be caused by incarceration. Psychologists believe that incarceration often breeds ‘global rage,’ an impulsive and explosive anger so great that a minor incident can trigger an uncontrolled response.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) The Human Rights Watch’s report on prison rape in America recommends several measures for preventing prison rape and brutality, and it is vital that policy focus on this aspect of the prison experience. In 2003 a bill was passed establishing a National Commission dedicated to studying prison rape, and several other measures to provide information and training regarding prison rape. However, these measures did not go far enough to assure that prison rape was both prosecuted and that victims received help and counseling. Neither mandatory prosecution nor counseling was included in the bill’s measures. Though some constituents might hesitate to focus on preventing brutality to prisoners (indeed, if one pays close attention to the sorts of attitudes and jokes prevalent on crime shows such as Law and Order and NYPD Blue, many consumers may think that prison rape is a justifiable punishment for child abusers and pedophiles), it is important to remember that prison rape victims are likely to emerge with HIV and equally likely to become sexual abusers after their experiences even if they were not abusers before. Thus it is a public health and safety concern to prevent prison rape and other brutality between prisoners. You read "A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society" in category "Papers" The following policies should be instituted nationwide: 1. Division of prison population between violent and non-violent criminals, and between those who are eligible for parole and those who are not. (Parole-eligible prisoners have more incentive for good behavior) 2. Establishment of special court systems for prison population, mandatory investigation and prosecution of all incidents of hospitalization resulting from sexual assault, availability of independent prisoner-rights advocates, and segregation of all inmates convicted of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assault to carefully regulated wards, and automatic termination for any employee convicted of sexual impropriety or battery of an inmate. 3. Mandatory counseling and AIDS testing for all prison brutality victims and the establishment of victim-positive protective custody arrangements. (Many victimized inmates are only offered solitary confinement as a protective arrangement, which generally means loss of other privileges and any human interaction, potentially worsening the trauma and decreasing reports) Condoms and retro-virus treatment should be made available to all AIDS/HIV positive inmates, so that future consensual prison relationships will be less likely to increase AIDS transmission. Additionally, the very arrangement of prisons tends to discourage personal responsibility and the development of positive social interactions. Petersilia describes how prison systems punish individual initiative and free-thought, and fail to prepare inmates for independence and responsibility within an open society. â€Å"When personal choice is eliminated, so is personal accountability because the system makes all decisions for prisoners.† (Petersilia, 184) A nationwide study should be undertaken regarding ways that personal choice and accountability can be safely established in prisons and a set of guidelines for national and private prisons should be developed based on the results of that study. Petersilia recommends some programs which have had success in the past which allow simple personal choice from requiring prisoners to decide for themselves when/how to clean their own cells, send their laundry to the cleaners, and so forth. Involving prisoners in some of the more mundane aspects of their confinement is likely to increase the sense of personal control and encourage responsibility. These changes should not be geared so much as ameliorating the punishment of prisoners as of assuring that the incarceration does not reduce their ability to function as a free person. One more important issue regarding prison experience is the availability of vocational and academic training. It is well known by those who study these issues that prisoners who are able to be employed after re-entry to society are significantly less likely to commit further crimes. Petersilia’s second suggestion was to change prison release and revocation practices. The best recommendation for policy on this issue would be to adjust mandatory sentences so that they included the completion of certain educational and behavioral requirements. These adapted sentences would require the inmate to both complete a certain length of time and a set of release requirements to be established by a panel of experts on a case-by-case basis. These release requirements must be completed before the inmate was eligible either for parole or release based on time served. Requirements should include, as determined per individual case, mandatory counseling, addiction treatment, educational attainment, vocational studies, and good behavior. Petersilia points out that, based on prison records, recidivism predictions can be made that are 80% correct. Recidivism predictors should be made clear to inmates and they should be encouraged to work towards being eligible for release and parole. A nationwide set of guidelines regarding minimum achievements requirements in addition to the current nationwide set of minimum time-served requirements would return the focus to rehabilitation rather than mere punishment. In fact, the minimum time-served should be directly related to the minimum time necessary to complete the release requirements. Part of assuring that the prison system creates parolees who do not endanger the community is assuring that it creates educated parolees. It would do well in the future for ex-criminals to speak of â€Å"graduating† from prison, as it were, and going on to lead productive lives. In 1997 the Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture reported that â€Å"inmates with at least two years of college have a 10% re-arrest rate, compared to a national re-arrest rate of approximately 60%.† This is somewhat ironic, because just three years earlier in 1994 Congress passed a bill which virtually destroyed the prison undergraduate school system. This bill eliminated Pell grants paying for the education of incarcerated individuals. â€Å"Nationally, the only higher education program that’s still publicly funded is for youthful offenders.† (Banks) So it is that since 1994 recidivism has increased by almost half, going from around 60% to nearly 90%. Today a mixture of volunteers, religious organizations, and state-funded programs have moved in to provide some college education for inmates. However only slightly more than 10% of prisoners will re-enter society with a college degree. A new bill should be sponsored which would fight to prevent crime by educating prisoners and thus slashing their chances of offending again. Even if Pell Grants were not extended to prisoners, perhaps a new system of educational grants should be developed that would pay for accredited college education for prisoners as part of their pre-release requirements. Our founding fathers all focused on the necessity of a free people being an educated people, and claimed that democracy was dependent on the education of the people. If we are to prepare prisoners to reenter a democratic nation and partake in it as citizens rather than as public enemies, then a liberal arts education which both prepares them for work and prepares them to understand the rights and responsibilities of all citizens is absolutely necessary. Petersilia’s third point is that we need extensive post-release services. A new set of federal guidelines should require all released prisoners to be prepared with housing and income options. Halfway housing should be arranged for those who do not have families prepared to commit to providing housing. Job-placement services should be arranged before release and continued employment should be a condition of parole with job-placement provided at any point during the parole period at which the ex-inmate becomes unemployed. Continued medical treatment and counseling for prison-related problems (including AIDS and mental illness) should be provided, as well as mandatory counseling and guidance sessions. More federal and state funding needs to be available to increase the number of parole officers and services. Nationwide there is a shortage in parole officers. In California, for example, â€Å"the ratio is now 82 parolees to 1 parole officer†¦ even parolees who are motivated to change have little opportunity to do so.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ) According to Petersilia’s research, â€Å"most inmates have a strong desire to succeed when they are first released.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) Therefore it is vital that re-entry services are provided. Additionally, as most inmates are re-arrested within three years, it seems vital that such services are available for a period of at least five years as the inmates adjust to the responsibility and freedom of life outside. Homelessness, lack of income and opportunities, and a return to addiction are among the main reasons for a return to crime — proper post-release supervision, counseling, and provision of housing and work opportunities can prevent this. Though such supervision would be expensive, it will be far less expensive to provide ex-inmates with housing, employment, and services within the community than to provide them with housing, constant supervision, and services inside our prisons after they re-offend. In conclusion, it appears that a national Recidivism Prevention Bill is absolutely necessary. This bill should include: 1) a commitment to stop prison rape by means of the creation of a special court system for in-prison crimes such as rape, the mandatory investigation of prison rape cases, and special custody arrangements designed to combat rape; 2) the establishment of a study resulting in national guidelines for prison reform aimed at fostering social responsibility and accountability; 3) the establishment and funding of an accredited national university of correctional facilities which provides liberal arts, vocational, and technical degrees to inmates; 4) Creation of national guidelines for sentencing to include individual minimum release requirements including (but not limited to) successful completion of addiction or other counseling, charitable service, educational and vocational training, evidence of good behavior, and treatment for mental health problems; 5) national guidelines and funding for parole services including housing, job-placement and training, medical services , and mental health/addiction/family adjustment counseling, and a low parolee-to-officer ration allowing for adequate surveillance and regular check-ups. How to cite A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society, Papers A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society Free Essays string(71) " concern to prevent prison rape and other brutality between prisoners\." Prisoner re-entry is a vitally important issue today which has yet to reach its full impact on the minds and lives of voters. However, with every passing year the importance of this topic becomes more evident. Since the eighties, every passing year has brought more pressure for harsher and longer imprisonment and more streamlined mandatory sentencing rules. We will write a custom essay sample on A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now This has not only resulted in an exploding prison population, but also in a drastic increase in the number of prisoners re-released into communities. Additionally, the push towards more punitive measures has decreased educational opportunities in prisons and the availability of rehabilitation programs. This means that released prisoners are increasingly unable to reintegrate into their communities, increasingly prone to recidivism, and increasingly violent in each release and re-capture cycle. Even the conservative Bush administration has recognized the threat posed by unprepared prisoner re-entry and responded with a series of grants to private and public organizations involved in rehabilitation and easing prisoner transitions. However, merely making government money available to private, religious, or state-based programs is not enough. These funds are only likely to reach a minority of prisoners who are already being aided by the aided programs. Prisoners whose communities and systems do not already take measures to help their rehabilitation will not be seeing any increase in re-entry programs or preparation. A nationwide set of standards is needed to assure that every prisoner eligible for re-release into the community will be inoculated against recidivism and prepared to become a useful part of the society in which they will reside. It is time for the Democratic Party to back away from the conservative model of crime prevention through fear and towards social responsible model of crime prevention through the creation of healthy communities. This can be done in large part by reforming the prison system from a gulag of social control and intimidation into a truly educational experience in which prisoners are put on a moderated track towards social responsibility, respect for the rights of others, and preparation to take a beneficial role in society. Joan Petersilia wrote an insightful book on this subject documenting a series of studies in crime and public policy, When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. After presenting many pages of carefully documented research, Petersilia provided four suggestions for future reform which could drastically reduce recidivism and change returning prisoners from presenting a public threat to being a boon to society. These suggestions were as follows: 1. Alter the in-prison experience. Provide more education, work, and rehabilitation opportunities. Change the prison environment to promote life skills rather than violence and domination. 2. Change prison release and revocation practices. Institute a system of discretionary parole release that incorporates parole release guidelines. These parole guidelines should be based primarily on recidivism prediction. 3. Revise post-prison services and supervision. Incorporate better parole supervision classification systems, and target services and surveillance to those with high need and risk profiles. 4. Foster collaborations with the community and enhance mechanisms of informal social control. Develop partnerships with service providers, ex-convicts, law enforcement, family members, victim advocates, and neighborhoods to support the offender. (Petersilia) These suggestions represent the best Democratic policy towards reform of the prisoner re-entry system. Petersilia’s book on the subject provides documentation about the efficacy of these recommendations and their necessity in the current environment. The remainder of this paper will focus on the precise laws, policies, and programs which may be recommended to promote the implementations of these suggestions. Petersilia’s first recommendation is to alter the in-prison experience. This may not be the immediately evident response to prisoner re-entry, but evidence suggests it may in fact be the most important response. As Petersilia points out in a separate article on the â€Å"Challenges of Prisoner Reentry and Parole in California,† the reason that returning convicts pose such a threat is not merely that they are dangerous criminals returning to the communities that they originally victimized, but that their time in prison has in all likelihood increased the dangers they pose to civilians! It is common knowledge that non-violent and inexperienced criminals entering the prison system are likely to emerge being both violent and experienced due to the brutal conditions that exist in most prisons. Male (and female) rape is extremely common in the prison system, with estimates placed between 13-70% of inmates suffering unwanted sexual conduct. (HRW) Such brutal experiences lead many inmates to experience post traumatic stress disorder, which has been positively linked to increased violent tendencies. The degree of dehumanization and stress common in prison can cause other problems as well. â€Å"Mental illnesses, particularly chronic anxiety and depression, may be caused by incarceration. Psychologists believe that incarceration often breeds ‘global rage,’ an impulsive and explosive anger so great that a minor incident can trigger an uncontrolled response.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) The Human Rights Watch’s report on prison rape in America recommends several measures for preventing prison rape and brutality, and it is vital that policy focus on this aspect of the prison experience. In 2003 a bill was passed establishing a National Commission dedicated to studying prison rape, and several other measures to provide information and training regarding prison rape. However, these measures did not go far enough to assure that prison rape was both prosecuted and that victims received help and counseling. Neither mandatory prosecution nor counseling was included in the bill’s measures. Though some constituents might hesitate to focus on preventing brutality to prisoners (indeed, if one pays close attention to the sorts of attitudes and jokes prevalent on crime shows such as Law and Order and NYPD Blue, many consumers may think that prison rape is a justifiable punishment for child abusers and pedophiles), it is important to remember that prison rape victims are likely to emerge with HIV and equally likely to become sexual abusers after their experiences even if they were not abusers before. Thus it is a public health and safety concern to prevent prison rape and other brutality between prisoners. You read "A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society" in category "Papers" The following policies should be instituted nationwide: 1. Division of prison population between violent and non-violent criminals, and between those who are eligible for parole and those who are not. (Parole-eligible prisoners have more incentive for good behavior) 2. Establishment of special court systems for prison population, mandatory investigation and prosecution of all incidents of hospitalization resulting from sexual assault, availability of independent prisoner-rights advocates, and segregation of all inmates convicted of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assault to carefully regulated wards, and automatic termination for any employee convicted of sexual impropriety or battery of an inmate. 3. Mandatory counseling and AIDS testing for all prison brutality victims and the establishment of victim-positive protective custody arrangements. (Many victimized inmates are only offered solitary confinement as a protective arrangement, which generally means loss of other privileges and any human interaction, potentially worsening the trauma and decreasing reports) Condoms and retro-virus treatment should be made available to all AIDS/HIV positive inmates, so that future consensual prison relationships will be less likely to increase AIDS transmission. Additionally, the very arrangement of prisons tends to discourage personal responsibility and the development of positive social interactions. Petersilia describes how prison systems punish individual initiative and free-thought, and fail to prepare inmates for independence and responsibility within an open society. â€Å"When personal choice is eliminated, so is personal accountability because the system makes all decisions for prisoners.† (Petersilia, 184) A nationwide study should be undertaken regarding ways that personal choice and accountability can be safely established in prisons and a set of guidelines for national and private prisons should be developed based on the results of that study. Petersilia recommends some programs which have had success in the past which allow simple personal choice from requiring prisoners to decide for themselves when/how to clean their own cells, send their laundry to the cleaners, and so forth. Involving prisoners in some of the more mundane aspects of their confinement is likely to increase the sense of personal control and encourage responsibility. These changes should not be geared so much as ameliorating the punishment of prisoners as of assuring that the incarceration does not reduce their ability to function as a free person. One more important issue regarding prison experience is the availability of vocational and academic training. It is well known by those who study these issues that prisoners who are able to be employed after re-entry to society are significantly less likely to commit further crimes. Petersilia’s second suggestion was to change prison release and revocation practices. The best recommendation for policy on this issue would be to adjust mandatory sentences so that they included the completion of certain educational and behavioral requirements. These adapted sentences would require the inmate to both complete a certain length of time and a set of release requirements to be established by a panel of experts on a case-by-case basis. These release requirements must be completed before the inmate was eligible either for parole or release based on time served. Requirements should include, as determined per individual case, mandatory counseling, addiction treatment, educational attainment, vocational studies, and good behavior. Petersilia points out that, based on prison records, recidivism predictions can be made that are 80% correct. Recidivism predictors should be made clear to inmates and they should be encouraged to work towards being eligible for release and parole. A nationwide set of guidelines regarding minimum achievements requirements in addition to the current nationwide set of minimum time-served requirements would return the focus to rehabilitation rather than mere punishment. In fact, the minimum time-served should be directly related to the minimum time necessary to complete the release requirements. Part of assuring that the prison system creates parolees who do not endanger the community is assuring that it creates educated parolees. It would do well in the future for ex-criminals to speak of â€Å"graduating† from prison, as it were, and going on to lead productive lives. In 1997 the Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture reported that â€Å"inmates with at least two years of college have a 10% re-arrest rate, compared to a national re-arrest rate of approximately 60%.† This is somewhat ironic, because just three years earlier in 1994 Congress passed a bill which virtually destroyed the prison undergraduate school system. This bill eliminated Pell grants paying for the education of incarcerated individuals. â€Å"Nationally, the only higher education program that’s still publicly funded is for youthful offenders.† (Banks) So it is that since 1994 recidivism has increased by almost half, going from around 60% to nearly 90%. Today a mixture of volunteers, religious organizations, and state-funded programs have moved in to provide some college education for inmates. However only slightly more than 10% of prisoners will re-enter society with a college degree. A new bill should be sponsored which would fight to prevent crime by educating prisoners and thus slashing their chances of offending again. Even if Pell Grants were not extended to prisoners, perhaps a new system of educational grants should be developed that would pay for accredited college education for prisoners as part of their pre-release requirements. Our founding fathers all focused on the necessity of a free people being an educated people, and claimed that democracy was dependent on the education of the people. If we are to prepare prisoners to reenter a democratic nation and partake in it as citizens rather than as public enemies, then a liberal arts education which both prepares them for work and prepares them to understand the rights and responsibilities of all citizens is absolutely necessary. Petersilia’s third point is that we need extensive post-release services. A new set of federal guidelines should require all released prisoners to be prepared with housing and income options. Halfway housing should be arranged for those who do not have families prepared to commit to providing housing. Job-placement services should be arranged before release and continued employment should be a condition of parole with job-placement provided at any point during the parole period at which the ex-inmate becomes unemployed. Continued medical treatment and counseling for prison-related problems (including AIDS and mental illness) should be provided, as well as mandatory counseling and guidance sessions. More federal and state funding needs to be available to increase the number of parole officers and services. Nationwide there is a shortage in parole officers. In California, for example, â€Å"the ratio is now 82 parolees to 1 parole officer†¦ even parolees who are motivated to change have little opportunity to do so.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ) According to Petersilia’s research, â€Å"most inmates have a strong desire to succeed when they are first released.† (Petersilia, â€Å"Challenges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) Therefore it is vital that re-entry services are provided. Additionally, as most inmates are re-arrested within three years, it seems vital that such services are available for a period of at least five years as the inmates adjust to the responsibility and freedom of life outside. Homelessness, lack of income and opportunities, and a return to addiction are among the main reasons for a return to crime — proper post-release supervision, counseling, and provision of housing and work opportunities can prevent this. Though such supervision would be expensive, it will be far less expensive to provide ex-inmates with housing, employment, and services within the community than to provide them with housing, constant supervision, and services inside our prisons after they re-offend. In conclusion, it appears that a national Recidivism Prevention Bill is absolutely necessary. This bill should include: 1) a commitment to stop prison rape by means of the creation of a special court system for in-prison crimes such as rape, the mandatory investigation of prison rape cases, and special custody arrangements designed to combat rape; 2) the establishment of a study resulting in national guidelines for prison reform aimed at fostering social responsibility and accountability; 3) the establishment and funding of an accredited national university of correctional facilities which provides liberal arts, vocational, and technical degrees to inmates; 4) Creation of national guidelines for sentencing to include individual minimum release requirements including (but not limited to) successful completion of addiction or other counseling, charitable service, educational and vocational training, evidence of good behavior, and treatment for mental health problems; 5) national guidelines and funding for parole services including housing, job-placement and training, medical services , and mental health/addiction/family adjustment counseling, and a low parolee-to-officer ration allowing for adequate surveillance and regular check-ups. How to cite A Prisoner’s Re-Entry into Society, Papers

Progressivism Essays (567 words) - Political Ideologies,

Progressivism The Progressive Era The Progressive Era initiated reforms that benefited the individual and the whole society. Industrial and social reforms were launched to benefit the individual and the whole society. Movements were begun to help the individual benefit from the corrupt industrial system . Major reforms were instigated to enhance and preserve the social institution in America. Social reforms were thought needed in order to preserve the social institution in America. The fight against alcohol was a social reform that was begun to help protect the social structure from collapsing. Document 19.5 (Reform as Social Control: Prohibition and the Progressive Movement) stated that alcohol creates disorder in American life. This would support the creation of the Prohibition movement. Also Document 19.5 said that alcohol leads to immoral situations and reforms must be made to preserve values which could sustain the family as a vital social institution. This movement was initiated in order to protect the social structure by keeping the family intact and realizing that the family is the main component of the social system. Womens suffrage was another reform sought by progressives to keep the social system from corruption. Document 19.6 (Womens Suffrage and the Working Class) depicts a poster stating that in order to protect the family and social system the homemakers ( women) must be given a voice/a right to vote. Document 19.6 supports the views that the progressives believed necessary in order to protect the great American society. Industrial reform is another issue that the Progressive Era touched on. Reforms and movements were established to help the individual in the society benefit from the corrupt industrial system. Progressive believed that the industrial system must reformed in order for the individual in the society to be benefited. Document 19.2 (An Industrial Utopia: Looking Backward) supports this idea. The document stated that power in the hands of few, irresponsible men are corrupting the industrial system. A single corporation and one trust should be established in order to protect the common interest and receive a common profit for all individuals in the society. The benefits of the industrial system in the Progressive Era are seen in Document 19.3 (The Changing Economic Order: Shifts in the Work Force). This document shows the increase in the employment rate from 1890-1920 is almost tripled. The area in which a major increase in employment has occurred is in the Manufacturing and Construction. These positive changes support the progressives views and provide evidenc e of progression. Document 19.4 (Varieties of Progressivism: T.R. and Wilson) states that even the two major different progressive leaders support the same views in the topic of industry. They both believe that government should regulate corporations for fair competition and in affect will benefit the society by limiting large number of monopolies. The Progressive Era initiated reforms that benefited the individual and the whole society. The Progressive Eras main goals were to protect and preserve society and to reforms the industrial system as to promote fairness to all. The need to improve America internally was found in progressive reforms. The progressives looked domestically and corrected the problems internally before looking outward at the rest of the world. The Progressive Era was mainly concerned in depicting America as a dominant nation and the progressive knew that is not possible unless the domestic situation was in good status. Thesis and Dissertations

Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples

, I just do not possess the knowledge on this subject to feel that I have the right to make any judgmental comments on this critically acclaimed book. I do understand the ideas William McNeill explains in Plagues and Peoples, but I only understand them in a very broad, general way. To explain this book in one sentence from my point of view would be to say that disease had an extraordinary impact on humanity throughout history. The publisher comments on this book saying â€Å"Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impactpolitical, demographic, ecological, and psychologicalof disease on cultures. The history of disease is the history of humankind.† The history of disease is the history of humankind. This powerful comment from the publisher ultimately represents the impact of this book. I may not be able to represent my feelings towards this book as well as the publisher did, but I do understand the importance of McNeill’s ideas about how disease effected humankind and I am simply amazed in how it effected history the way that it did. I find it ironic that this book is so original in the way it discusses the effects of disease on the history of humanity, because after McNeill points all this out to us in this book it seems so obvious, and I feel like this should have alrea dy been thought about in the development of humankind. Now, thanks to this book, these ideas are not only considered, they are very respected, recognized, and t... Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples Plagues and Peoples By: William H. McNeill A critic is defined as a person who forms and expresses judgments and finds faults. As an average college student I do not even feel like I have the say to find faults and express judgments about William McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples. This book is simply on a level that I have not managed to achieve comprehensively, in other words, I just do not possess the knowledge on this subject to feel that I have the right to make any judgmental comments on this critically acclaimed book. I do understand the ideas William McNeill explains in Plagues and Peoples, but I only understand them in a very broad, general way. To explain this book in one sentence from my point of view would be to say that disease had an extraordinary impact on humanity throughout history. The publisher comments on this book saying â€Å"Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impactpolitical, demographic, ecological, and psychologicalof disease on cultures. The history of disease is the history of humankind.† The history of disease is the history of humankind. This powerful comment from the publisher ultimately represents the impact of this book. I may not be able to represent my feelings towards this book as well as the publisher did, but I do understand the importance of McNeill’s ideas about how disease effected humankind and I am simply amazed in how it effected history the way that it did. I find it ironic that this book is so original in the way it discusses the effects of disease on the history of humanity, because after McNeill points all this out to us in this book it seems so obvious, and I feel like this should have alrea dy been thought about in the development of humankind. Now, thanks to this book, these ideas are not only considered, they are very respected, recognized, and t...

Top 7 Apps to Make You Fluent in English [Guest Post]

Top 7 Apps to Make You Fluent in English [Guest Post] Learning English can be as fun as it can be frustrating and sometimes, even dull. With so many apps out there for your every need, why not let an app make the whole process of learning a language more fun for you? With these apps, you’ll have the ultimate convenience of selecting the things you want to learn and have self-paced lessons. Just pop out your phone anywhere, even while waiting in a long queue, open the app, and start learning. It’s that simple. But, how to choose an English-learning app that’s actually effective and not all glitter? Well, you don’t have to worry about that, since I have curated a list of the top 7 apps that would help you and make you more fluent in English, whether you are just a beginner or someone looking to sharpen their English skills further: 1- Duolingo Downloads 6,717,296 Rating 4.7/5 Duolingo, a free language learning platform (with no hidden costs), has a catalog of over 20 languages including English. As soon as you’ll open the app, you’ll be transported into a world full of fun graphics and bright colors. Each lesson consists of speaking, listening, translation and multiple choice challenges, and you can instantly see where you went wrong with the in-lesson Grading. The app will adapt to your proficiency level as well as your time and set daily goals accordingly giving you a tailored experience. But what makes it so popular and effective? The app has combined language learning with addictive gamification through its bite-sized lessons, where you get awarded points for correct answers, and lose ‘Hearts’ for every incorrect answer while racing against the clock. 2- Memrise Downloads 1,153,288 Rating 4.7/5 Memrise focuses on vocabulary building and grammar through repetition and creating vivid sensory memories. The app follows the same gamification format with a tailored experience catering to your preferences as Duolingo but has other exciting features such as chatbots, and over 30,000 native speaker videos. You get to learn from the locals and work on your pronunciation and context through various videos and audios. The free version has over 200 language combinations, and the learn and review feature. While the pro version that costs a pocket-friendly $4.90 each month has more features such as Grammarbot, Video mode, and difficult words mode etc. In addition to this, Memrise has a thriving community of over 35 million users where users share audio, usage, etymologies, mnemonics etc, and help each other learn. The app also has an offline mode making your learning experience more convenient. 3 busuu Downloads 227,739 Rating 4.3/5 Busuu has a community of 80 million members and language lessons for 12 languages including English. The platform claims to teach you to speak a language in 10 minutes a day. The app is designed to fulfill all your English learning needs and comes with features such as placement test to help you start from the right difficulty level, a study plan, flash cards, certifications, help from natives, grammar exercises, vocabulary builder, accent training, full courses (over 150 Units per language), travel course, and the offline mode. Taking a more ‘human’ approach, the app allows you to converse with the native speakers to understand the nuances of the English language. That way youll be able to sharpen your skills and speak English almost as a native speaker.   To avail all these app features, you’ll have to go premium which has 4 plans ranging from $6/ month for a 24-month plan to $11/month for a 3-month plan. 4 Rosetta Stone Downloads 181,732 Rating 4.5/5 Instead of giving you a list of words to memorize, Rosetta Stone follows a unique approach to teaching English by connecting words with sights and sounds. The whole Rosetta journey puts an emphasis on learners to learn English intuitively, rather than through translation. To ensure that you learn to think and express yourself in English confidently, the app has features such as practicing to pronounce words and reading stories aloud with TruAccent, a speech recognition technology, studying grammar and vocabulary through seeing, hearing, speaking, reading, and writing only in English, preparing you for real-life conversations by having actual conversations with native tutors and chat with other learners. Some other features of the app are Downloadable Lessons, Phrasebook a guidebook to perfectly pronouncing key expressions, audio companion, and stories. You can either choose plans that come with tutor ranging from $18/month for 24 months to $52/month for 3 months or the more pocket-friendly but without tutor plans ranging from $11/month for 24 months to $18/month for 3 months. 5 Mondly Downloads 116,362 Rating 4.7/5 Mondly focuses on teaching language through a more conversational style. You can choose between three levels beginner, intermediate and advanced. The lesson starts with a simple conversation between two native speakers and teaches basic English words through it which you’ll then use to build sentences and phrases through various quizzes. This will be followed up by you reconstructing the conversation with your voice. The app uses technology like Speech Recognition and Spaced Repetition Algorithms to make the lessons more effective. Further, the lessons are divided into categories such as Daily Lesson, Grammar, Travel, and Introductions, etc, so, you can pick your lesson according to your needs. The other features of the app are verb conjugations, advanced statistics, the leaderboard, and adaptive learning where the app adapts to your way of learning. While many features can be accessed for free, to unlock all the content which includes 1000 lessons and conversations, 5000 words and phrases, and 365 lessons each year, you’ll have to upgrade to a premium account which has 3 plans ranging between $12 for one month to $5/month for 12 months. 6 HelloTalk Downloads 89,749 Rating 4.4/5 HelloTalk has an active worldwide community of over 10 million people. It is different from the other mentioned apps as it is based on ‘communication, not curriculum’. To put it simply, through HelloTalk, you can learn by chatting. The app matches you with people whose need match yours and connects you with native speakers of other languages (which includes English) and you can learn English by conversing with your ‘partners’ through texts, audio and voice messages as well as free audio and video calls. You can also post a ‘moment’ where you can share an update or post a question about language, culture or travel for native speakers to see and comment on. Therefore, through HelloTalk, not only can you learn a new language but also get to know a new culture through a native. The app also has learning features which include language translation, transliteration, grammar correction, text to voice, and voice recognition to improve your writing and speaking skills. 7 Beelinguapp Downloads 26,312 Rating 4.8/5 What better (and more interesting) way to learn English than through stories? This is the idea that Beelinguaapp is based on, it lets you read and listen to stories in different languages side by side. So, you can read the text and hear audio in English, and use the text and audio in your language for reference. You can choose between children’s stories, short stories, fairy tales, novels and more! The audiobooks and the Karaoke style animation reader will make learning English simpler and more fun. You can learn at your own pace while choosing the genre and learning level according to your preferences. Wrapping Up With these 7 apps, you’ll find learning English much more fun and even addictive. There’s an app for everyone, whether you are looking for fun games or learning through chatting, you can try them out, and pick the one that caters to your needs the most. While learning English, you might find your mind wandering, which would ultimately lead you to stare at your books for hours without absorbing anything. So, to help you further, I have a blog on the 21 Best Productivity Apps That Every Student Must Have which will help you not only be productive but also utilize your study sessions to the most! Author: Abhyank Srine Abhyank Srinet holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP Europe has an engineering degree with a specialization in Instrumentation Control. His interest in the digital landscape motivated him to create an online start-up for Masters in Management application consulting (MiM-Insider.com), focused on spreading quality information about the MiM degree performing application consulting services for clients. He is the chief consultant of the company and takes care of Business Development and Digital Marketing side of the company. He is very passionate about writing and marketing.

Heart attacks and stress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Heart attacks and stress - Essay Example Medicine Net (2010) has reported that if left unmanaged, stress can lead to emotional, psychological, and even physical problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, or irregular heart beats (Medicine Net, 2010). Stress can increase both the blood pressure and the cholesterol level in our body which can lead to heart attacks. This paper focussing mainly on stress related heart attacks. In simple terms Heart attack is the blocking of blood flow to the heart due to some problems. Barrier less flow of blood to and fro heart is essential for the smooth functioning of heart. Heart pumps blood to all over our body through veins and whenever this pumping disrupted, heart functions may cease. â€Å"If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die† (What Is a Heart Attack?, 2008) Heart attacks are common both in men and women. Different reasons were cited as the cause of heart attacks, But generally it is accepted that lack of physical workouts and changing life styles are the major reasons behind heart attacks. The current generation is tied with so many commitments to their family, society and to the workplace. It is difficult for a layman to manage all this commitments equally well. The failure in the management of commitments may result in increased level of stresses and stress causes many physical and mental problems and heart attacks are one among them. Friedman and Rosenman were the first to explain why specific behaviours (overt pattern behaviour A" or Type A) could cause heart attacks and contribute to coronary artery disease. Stress can cause accelerated atherosclerosis and coronary occlusion that is associated with elevated cholesterol, triglycerides, and free fatty acids, increased fibrinogen, haptoglobin, plasma seromucoids, platelet aggregation and adhesiveness, polycythemia, and accelerated blood clotting (Stress And Heart

Lean implementation in chinese manufacturing SMEs Essay

Lean implementation in chinese manufacturing SMEs - Essay Example I will spend all the holidays and time other than module attendance and other post module assignment project on the research work. Moreover, when my supervisor will not be available then i will try to improve the work already done as per last meeting with supervisor. The minimum time required to complete the project is 6 months, in which sample selection limitation will persist Despite it being easier to implement lean manufacturing in SMEs, its implementation is quite different from large companies and as such most SMEs usually face some obstacles in implementing the method successfully. The main barrier for SMEs is the lack of support and knowledge from top management with regard to the method. In addition, both employees and management tend to have a resistant towards change and new practices, which hinder the implementation of lean management. Most SMEs also have some constraints in resources, both operational and financial resources that will help in their path of becoming lean. Another obstacle is the instability in production schedules and cooperation from suppliers in most SMEs that makes it difficult to carry out lean manufacturing practices (Nordin & Deros, 2013). As Womack, Jones & Roos (1990) concluded in their study, lean manufacturing can be implemented by any company anywhere in the world in all industries and it regarded to benefit both small and large organisations regardless of the size factor. Several scholars, which have dealt with the concept of lean management, have stressed that when implementing this method, SMEs should not start with massive financial investment in lean practices but should go slow. One of the proposed framework by Herron and Braiden (2007) pointed out that, SMEs should focus on five basic practices as the stepping stone towards developing lean manufacturing in a company that include quality circle,

Jefferson Davis :: essays research papers

Jefferson Davis was born on June, 3rd, 1808, in Christian County, Kentucky. He was educated at Transylvania University and at the U.S. Military Academy. After his graduation in 1828, he served in the army until bad health forced him to residn in 1835. He was a farmer in Mississippi from 1835 to 1845. Then he was elected to the U.S. congress. In 1846, he resigned his seat in order to serve in the Mexican War and fought at Monterrey and Buena Vista, where he was wounded. He was a U.S. Senator from Mississippi from 1847 to 1857, and a U.S. Senator again from 1857 to 1861. As a Senator, he was in support of slavery and states' rights. "He also influenced Pice to sign in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which favored the South and increased the bitterness of the struggle over slavery. (Encarta, Davis Jefferson. 97)" In his second term as a Senator he became the spokesman for the Southern point of view. He opposed the idea of secession from the Union as a way of maintaining the principles in the South. Even after the first steps toward secession had been taken, he tried to keep the Southern states in the Union. When the state of Mississippi seceeded, he withdrew from the Senate. On February 18, 1861, the congress of the Confederate States made him president. He was elected to the office by popular vote for a 6-year term and was inaugurated un Richmond, Virginia, the new capital of the Confederacy. He failed to raise enough money to fight the Civil War and could not obtain help for the Confederacy from foreign governments. One of the accomplishments of Jefferson Dacis, was the raising of the Confederate army. Davis had a difficult task to preform. He was the head of the new nation in the beginnings of a major war. The South had inferior railroads compared to the Union, no navy, no gunpowder mills, and a reat lack of arms and ammunition. "The South's only resource seemed to have been of cotton and courage." (Davis, W. P 128). Despite this, the Confederates demolished the North at the battle of Bull Run. Somehow, with limited resources, Dacis made facotries for arms, cannons, powders and ammunition. Old naval yards were restored and gunboats were built. Davis sent agents to Europe to buy arms and ammunition and representatives were sent to try and secure help from England and France.