Literature Review: Burglary and Crime Prevention

Literature Review: Burglary and Crime Prevention LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION The literature study in this study revolved around a document analysis on the Constitution, (SA 1996: Constitution), Crime Prevention Strategies, previous studies in the field by discussing the following concepts: environmental criminology, the burglary/robbery process, motivation, target selection, residents’ activities and lifestyle, accessibility of neighbourhood, perspective on environmental crime prevention, crime prevention through environmental design, situational crime prevention. ENVIROMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY A range of factors including social, economic, demographic, biological, psychological and physical, influence the occurrence of crime. According to Naude (2000:7) high levels of crime are more prevalent in countries where there is a high proportion of people who feel economically deprived. From the suspects arrested for housebreaking residential and house robbery in Westville policing area for the period 2012/2013 it is evident that the suspects are not resident in Westville policing area. This study will therefore focus on locations of crime, the characteristics of those locations, the movement paths that bring offenders and victims together at those locations as it would be easier to alter the environmental opportunities for crime than to influence the complex soci-economic factors motivating offenders (Smith 1986:82). This was also found in Naude (1988:11) who stated that it would be easier to prevent opportunities for crime in the physical environment, since committing the crime can mainly be attributed to rational decisions rather than being the result of pathological, biophysical, psychological or social factors. Sovensend in (David 2003:7) argues that a crime only occurs when there is integration in what motivates the offender to commit the crime. The aim would thus be as also found in Smith (1986:84), to reduce opportunities for crime as perceived by potential offenders, by introducing target hardening, target removal, reducing the payoff and encouraging public surveillance. THE BURGLARY/ROBBERY PROCESS This process refers to the causal events within a specific time and space context that leads to the commission of the offence. For burglary/robbery to take place there must be a ready, willing and able offender, a vulnerable attractive provocative target, a favourable environment and the absence of a willing, able and credible modulator (Ekblom 1996:47-50). According to Wilcox (1990:1) the following elements must be present in order for a crime to occur: Desire, Ability and Opportunity. This is depicted in the crime triangle below Fig.2.3.1 OPPORTUNITY The desire and ability refers to the characteristics of a criminal or potential criminal and the opportunity, conditions conducive to a criminal act. The absence of any one of the elements will result in no crime taking place. For a crime to occur the potential perpetrator must have a need and a target. According to Brangtinham and Brantingham (1993:268) the search for a suitable targets rests on a general backcloth formed by routine activities and on a template that helps identify what a great chance is or what a good opportunity would be or how to search for chance and opportunities. By performing daily routines of non-criminal activities the triggered potential burglar develops an awareness space. In accordance with his/her idealized crime template, his/her target will be searched in the awareness space. When the potential burglar finds such a target, he/she will commit the burglary. It is important to realize that the triggered event, the probable crime template, the activity backcloth and the criminal readiness are interrelated. They further went on to say that mixed-use developments are likely to contain a variety of land-users which could potentially provide increased and more diverse opportunities for crime. Shopping malls, storage places, schools, and service stations and restaurants tend to attract criminals as well as legitimate customers to the area. The routine activities of the community (including potential offenders) will therefore affect the incidence of crime in and around these nodes of activity, which are systematically more concentrated in mixed-use developments. Westville’s mixed land development ensures many persons outside Westville to traverse into Westville for work, leisure and potential criminal activity. The above indicate that criminals identify their targets during their day to day activities identifying those areas where they would not be easily identified, are easily accessible and are affluent. Research on burglaries done by (Brantingham and Brantingham 1981, Rengert and Wasilchick 1985) suggests that residential burglars engage in a search process along â€Å"activity spaces† in order to select neighbourhoods in which to commit burglaries. Neighbourhoods are chosen along familiar routes and this is done during the day to day movement of the burglars. This was also found in Schneider and Kitchen 2002:107 who stated that , offenders , like ordinary people, have day to day schedules which involve trips to and from work, visiting friends, going shopping and it is during the course of these activities that they search out likely targets. These targets may even be repeatedly victimised. The busyness of a location also creates opportunities for criminal activities as was found in Shover (1991) who stated that the busyness and anonymity of a large city attracts those who earn a living through crime as it reduces the possibility of offenders being recognised as strangers. This view was also held by Rubenstein H, Murray C, Motoyama T and Rouse W (1980) who reported that heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic flows were associated with higher victimisation rates as it creates high-density environments and this reduces the risk of strangers and potential offenders being recognised. OFFENDERS MOTIVATION According to Reppetto (1972:21) the satisfaction of a perceived need for money appeared to be the primary motive for most burglaries although offenders did acknowledge that subsidiary satisfactions such as excitement revenge curiosity and feelings of group solidarity also played a role in their decision to offend. This was also found in the study done by Dr. Zinn( ) where he interviewed 30 convicted residential robbery perpetrators on the motivation for offending. 97% of the perpetrators in the study stated their motivation being economic gain; the victims were target because of their wealth. 80% stated that their families and friends and acquaintances in their communities had knowledge of their criminal activities. They stated that residential robbery resulted in quick money. In a study done by May (2011:70) it was found that the majority of perpetrators reported that unemployment triggered their aggravated robbery. TARGET SELECTION The manner in which criminals select potential crime sites, penetrate a variety of symbolic and physical barriers to commit crime, has drawn attention from environmental criminologists. Weatherburn (2001:6) states that criminals commit more crime when the opportunities to do so are more and incentives to do so are good. The following are factors that are conducive for the selection of a possible target: lax physical security, lax personal security, lax law enforcement or low perceived risk of apprehension, attractive commercial or residential targets and easy opportunities for selling or disposing of stolen goods. In Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta (2004:297) it was found that burglars target specific areas that offer increased revenue, requires minimal effort when the premises or property is entered, the premises/property appear to have valuable items; and the burglars feel (perceive) that they will not be apprehended or disturbed while conducting the burglary (low risk of being detected and apprehended. They further state on (2004:297-298) that the burglar would look at the affluence level of the property; and the possibility (likelihood) of the successful completion of the criminal act. The wealth displayed in the form of properties and vehicles by Westville residents may be what criminal are drawn to. Felson and Clark (1988) states that there are four elements designated by acronym VIVA that influences a targets risk of being victimized by crime namely: value, target must be rewarding , inertia, the ability of the target to be moved, visibility, exposure of targets to offenders, access, all those environmental and situational features that my facilitate offenders getting to the target. Sovensend (2003:17) is of the opinion that burglars estimate the potential rewards by assessing the size and condition of houses, yards, and vehicles parked in garages. Conspicuous evidence of wealth places a property at a higher risk of victimisation. As is the case in Westville which is an affluent area. However, Wessel (2002:13) argues that there is evidence that most expensive looking homes are spared for fear of security devices or the presence of staff on the property. According to Tilley, N Pease, K Hough, M Brown, R ( 1999:7) that burglars target areas were there is a possibility of high value valuables, nobody present to prevent the burglary from taking place, that there is a market where the stolen goods can be disposed of and in return receive a monetary incentive for the stolen goods and the dwelling have insufficient security hardware to provide it with any reasonable level of perceived guardianship (protection) This was supported by Reppetto (1971:16) in his study he obtained from the interviewees as to the reason for selection of their targets being, ease of access, appears affluent, feels inconspicuous, presence not be questioned, isolated neighbourhoods, few police patrols and anonymity of neighbours. Kleemans ( 1996:55) in his findings as to why perpetrators repeatedly victimise he said, the first is the knowledge the burglar has obtained about the goods to be stolen, the second time the burglar can steal the goods he/she could not transport the first time, the goods that he/she forgot to steal the first time; or the goods for which he/she has only now found a potential client for, the burglar can be reassured that after a time the goods stolen the first time have been replaced, knows the risk factors (layout of the house, the ease of access and egress). Pease (1998:6) argued that the key reasons for repeats are believed to be the presence of good, and lack of bad, consequences of the first crime for the offender, and the stability of the situation which presents itself to an offender on the first and subsequent visits to the scene of his/her crime. PERMEABILITY OF NEIGHBOURHOOD According to Garland F White (1990:59) permeability is the number of access streets from traffic arteries to the neighbourhoods. He is of the opinion that permeable neighbourhoods may provide less risk of apprehension for offenders as there are more escape routes. In addition they may be more likely to be selected for burglaries on the basis of chance. If a neighbourhood has more avenues of access, the chance of an offender entering it while searching for a burglary location would be greater. Schneider and Kitchen (2007:121) reported on a study which compared a dense permeable housing estate with a lower density estate dominated by cul-de- sac. Their finding was that burglaries, auto crime, arson and public disorder were significantly higher for the area with a higher density permeable development. They were cautious to note that there are many other factors, other that density and street layout, which may help to explain these patterns Although neighbourhood permeability has been linked to neighbourhood crime rates, the results have not always been conclusive. An experimental study in Hartford Connecticut (Fowler 1982) found that decreasing the number of entrances to the experimental neighbourhood and thereby decreasing the amount of traffic did not necessarily reduce robberies and burglaries in the long run although there was a short-term reduction in crimes. The pattern of victimisation moved from less-travelled side streets to the more heavily travelled streets in the district. The study suggests that a reduction in crime could be achieved both when physical permeability is reduced and when the neighbourhood is organized socially to prevent crimes. The physical changes alone were not enough to produce a long term reduction in crime. (Taylor and Nee 1988) are of the opinion that dwellings which are more visible from the street or neighbours and passers-by, are less desirable as a target for burglars. David WM Sovensend 2003:17 were of the same opinion. He also stated that burglars tend to avoid targets easily observed by neighbours or passers-by. Therefore, it can be deduced that houses in isolated areas, not visible from the road and on large properties of land which are next to parks or other non-residential areas are more attractive to burglars. A study by Davison and Smith (2003) revealed that crime was more frequent in accessible areas with commercial land use and residential burglary was reported to be more frequent in residential properties close to commercial areas (Dietrick 1977). Research by Wilcox and Quisenberry (2004) revealed that businesses in residential areas exhibited an increased risk of burglary. Yang’s research (2006) which investigated some three thousand burglaries, found that burglaries are more likely to occur in properties located in mixed-use sites. Brantingham and Brantingham (2008:91) have discussed mixing land-users as supported by New Urbanism and commented â€Å"this planning practice will increase the activity in some nodes and is likely to produce a clustering of crime† CRIME PREVENTION Currently crime prevention is the primary function of the South African Police Service. The South African Police is mandated by the Police Act 68 of 1995 as well as section 205(3) of the constitution to combat crime, investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure South Africa’s inhabitants and their property; and to uphold and enforce the law. However the SAPS are not in a position to effectively combat crime on their own. The Government since 1994 recognised the need for crime prevention. This need saw the acceptance of the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) in 1996 and the White Paper on Safety and Security in 1998. The NCPS is a multi-agency approach to crime prevention and aimed to influence the operations of the Departments of Safety and Security, Justice, Correctional Services, Welfare, Intelligence, Health and Education. The NCPS document made mention of environmental design as one of its pillars (1996:67). To assist the NCPS and the White Paper on Safety and Security, a National Crime Prevention Strategy Centre (NCPSC) was established within the department of Safety and Security and their functions are to mobilise other government departments, to assist provincial and local government in preventing crime, to assist in co-ordinating and managing the prevention of certain crimes and to monitor the effectiveness of social crime prevention interventions. The White Paper on Safety and Security (South Africa 1998:14) places emphasis on two approaches to crime prevention, viz, crime prevention through effective criminal justice and, social crime prevention. The White Paper (1998:19) further states that social crime prevention can be categorized as follows, viz. developmental crime prevention, situational crime prevention, community crime prevention and continuous improvement to the integrated Justice System. A multi-departmental or multi-sectoral approach is thus needed, which involves all levels of government and includes relevant organisations of civil society (South Africa 1998:20) According to the Crime Prevention Module level 1 (2001:9) crime prevention emphasises community involvement and without community involvement, crime cannot be prevented effectively. To accomplish this Police have to form a partnership with other role players which include but not limited to, the community, private security companies, business Against Crime (BAC), media, non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’S), etc. Naude and Stevens (1998:48) argue that co-operation must be forged by means of guidance, meetings and interaction with businessmen, public and use of media to succeed in long preventative programme. The researcher supports the arguments of Naude and Stevens as this can filter through to the prevention of house robberies and housebreaking residential in the Westville policing precinct. Lab (1997:19) states that prevention activities should not be restricted to the efforts of the criminal justice system alone but should include that of the public and private organisations. According to Bennett and Wright (1984:19) situational crime prevention refers to any environmental community or individual based method which aims to increase the risk, decrease the reward or increase the difficulty of committing the crime. Brantingham and Faust (1976:284) offer three types of crime prevention approaches viz, primary crime prevention (the identification of those conditions in the physical and social environment that offer opportunities for criminal acts), secondary crime prevention, the early identification of offenders (the intervention before an offence is committed), tertiary crime prevention (this aims to deal with offenders with the purpose of preventing further criminal activities). Lab (1997:20) is of the opinion that primary crime prevention is to put measures in place with the aim of making crime less attractive and more difficult for the offenders to commit whilst secondary prevention focuses on problems that already exist and are fostering deviant behaviour. Lab (1997:23) states that tertiary prevention includes arrests, prosecutions, incarceration, treatment and rehabilitation.

Environmental Factors to Improve Individual Development

Environmental Factors to Improve Individual Development Nicoline Bromwell Scenarios 1) A 65-year-old female, recently diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease. She has previously been a very active and vibrant woman, living on her own since her husband of 35 years died 5 years ago. 2) A 14-year-old minority female, facing the very real possibility that she may be pregnant. She has always struggled in school (she has been failed a grade already), and is currently a freshman in high school. Address the following questions/issues for each of the two scenarios you selected: 1) How would you design an environment to improve this persons situation and future development? 2) What kind of environmental factors would hinder this persons development? In other words, what environmental issues would make their situation worse, or what would you hope not happen in this persons world? 3) Discuss how the person is affected in the three domains of development (Biosocial (Physical), Cognitive, and Psychosocial). How might decreases or increases in development/maturity/ability affect the person? Basically, do several If/then discussions for each of the three domains. For example, If this woman has a poor psychosocial support network (like have no family or having an unsupportive family), then I would think that she may experience A love one diagnosed with Alzheimer can be very troubling for a family. Alzheimer’s disease can be a challenging journey, for all those who are involved both family members and loved ones.Taking care of someone with Alzheimers is overwhelming at times, but the more knowlegde and support the individual has, the better he/she will be prepared for the challenging road ahead and is able to seek the best long-term care options for a loved one. The best environment to help the individual development as time progresses would be one that provide loving care whether at home or in a designated facility for Alzheimer’s patients. Firstly, if she is still lucid enough, since she’s recently diagnosed I would encourage her family to get her wishes down on paper so they’ll be preserved and respected by all members of the family. I would then recommend that the family discuss the situation with her doctor , keeping in mind her wishes , see what would be the best treatment for her. They would then be armed with the knowledge of how to care for that love one. She will at some time need around-the-clock care and family members usually have their own health issues, jobs, and responsibilities. I would advise them to communication with each other to make sure that the wants and needs of the Alzheimer’s patient is met. If they cannot provide the care at home, since she was living alone, she could be relocated to live with a family member, which I would recommend, although it may be difficult, a care giver could be employed to care for her and that the caregiver would have the support of the family member to meet her needs. It will be diificult for her and her family as they have to watch her deteriorate slowly, but at home she will be monitored by love ones and most likely get the care she needs, although as the disease progresses, she may need to be hospitalized in a facility, if it becomes too hard for the family and caregiver. However for now the home environment is best. I would suggest that a sense of structure and familiarity is kept. A daily time for activities such as waking up, mealtimes, bathing, dressing, sharing family time, and bedtime. Keeping these things at the same time and place can bring a sense of familiarity to her. Let her know what is going to happen even if there is no certainty that she’ll truly understands. Use cues to start the various times of day. For example, when she wakes up you can say, â€Å" Rise and shine Mary , it’s another wonderful day.† At bedtime, you can play some quiet music or read to her, to indicate its bedtime. Also get her involved in daily activities as much as possible, as long as it is safe. For example, water the plants, folding clothing, or any other simple thing that she can do. These things will not improve her condition. But it will aim in making her more comfortably as she struggles with this disease The most that can be done for her is to make her feel loved. The worse care scenario would be if her family members are not able to get her a caregiver or put her in an institution for Alzheimer’s patient and they have to take care of her, with little or no training or knowledge of her condition. This would definitely worsen the situation. As her Alzheimer’s progresses, there will be changes in her communication skills, she’ll have trouble finding words, her hand gestures will increase, she’ll be easily confused, she’lldisplay behavior you never would have thought possible. Alzheimer’s will cause substantial changes in how she behaves, such as embarrassing or inappropriate outbursts, wandering, hallucinations, and violent behavior. Everyday tasks like eating, bathing, and dressing can become major challenges. This will become frustrating for the family members, as they don’t know how to deal with it. Imagine watching your mother change before your eyes, worsening daily and you cannot do anything about it. The family member offering care can become overwhelm and depress, he/she may even start blaming him/herself and may become too embarrass to go out, so he/she may isolate himself, or even harm the patient not willingly but as a result of being overwhelm. At some point, the care giver won’t be able to leave her one alone. Nighttime behaviors may not allow the care giver to sleep, confrontational or aggressive behaviors may exceed her ability to cope or feel safe. As the disease progresses help will definitely be needed and possible placing her in a facility that is better able to take care of her. Therefore, if this can’t be done the situation would not be hopeful. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Cognitive, physical, and psychosocial development is decreased. There is decline in memory and other aspects of cognition, such as word-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgment, getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, using poor judgment, and having some mood and personality changes. She’ll have problems recognizing family and friends. She’ll be unable to learn new things, carry out tasks that involve multiple steps (such as getting dressed), or cope with new situations. People with severe Alzheimer’s cannot communicate and are completely dependent on others for their care. Taking all of this in consideration whether if she has a strong or poor psychosocial support, it woul d not make much of a difference to her as all her cognitive skills are declining and will soon be gone. Physically she’ll may soon be bed ridden, Knowing no one and not able to take care of herself. The disease takes everything away from her. A student who is 14 years old facing a real possibility that she is pregnant and struggling in school faces many challenges. On her own it’s a frightening struggle. She needs supports, guidance and education, At this time family is very important. Therefore, the prefect environment for her would be one where she feels love and support. She needs someone she can talk to and trust, who can offer guidance and support. Sometimes the father is not present and this is usually the case. She is now frightened at the fact that she now has to face this alone, the realization that a new is life growing inside of her is quite unsettling as she is not prepared and she doesn’t know how to cope. She questions herself, â€Å"How am I going to take care of a child?†, â€Å" What are my peers going to think about me?†, â€Å"How are they going to treat me?†, â€Å"Should I keep the baby?†, â€Å"I am failing in school, How can I take care of a child?† , â€Å"Who is going to take care of me?† She has so many questions; she needs help getting those answers. She needs help finding herself and moving into the right direction. The environment that would be ideal for her would have to help her deal with the situation she is in and help with her future development. Firstly I would encourage her to make sure she is pregnant before doing anything else, and if she is then I would help her find someone she can trust and is able to talk to, such as a counselor, a family member or a teacher, so that she can make informed decisions. She would now need to tell her parents and if they are willing to help her, we can start from there. If they were not, she would need someone who is willing to offer support, for example an organization for pregnant teens, where she can relate with others in her own situation, or a supporting relative. When this is accomplished, She now needs to continue school, which will be difficult, but quite necessary, and she needs to decided whether or not she is able to keep the baby, and if she chooses not to, she can have an abortion or give the child up for adoption, which I would encourage, then continue on with her schooling.Hopefully, she will learn from her mistakes and get help in order to improve her grades ,therefore doing better in school. If she is with a supportive relative, she can get an after school job to help herself and through education she’ll have a better future. However, if she chooses to keep the child, which would not be wise at 14, with her social situation, she’ll need to also finish school and get help in improving her grade. She’ll also need a job to help support herself and her child. However if her parents offer to help she’ll have some support in taking care of the child. Otherwise keeping the child would be a very hard task for 14 years old on her own. Therefore, she would need to make an informed decision taking into consideration what is best for herself and the child.This she would do with the help of a responsible adult. I would advise her if she has no help to give up the child for adoption because at 14 she is a child herself. She is not physically, socially, or emotionally ready to be a mother. It is obvious that she is not able to make responsible decisions on her own, at her age; her cognitive skills are still developing. Throughout the entire process, I would ensure that she has someone to talk to because she needs this kind of support to get through the situation emotionally. As she is being prepared to deal with her situation and faces the coming obstacles in her pathway, I would hope she learns from her mistakes and realize that this is not the ideal situation for her .If she doesn’t then this could have devastating impact on her future taking in consideration the fact that she is failing in school. This could be as a result of lack of parental guidance, if they are too busy working or doing something else to see what is happening in their daughters life, she has no extrinsic motivation to excel, and she is obviously not intrinsically motivated , she just does what she wants,or is influenced by her peers and at this age teenagers naturally want to explore and try new things, this could be why she is pregnant. Now being faced with and adult issue at an early age,she has to be the one to take her future in her own hand, if she does and decide to move on , she will face , criticism from her peers, and she will stuggle with the fact that she has to g ive up her first child, she is pregnant at 14, and she faces the danger of herself and the baby being malnourished, or being born with illness and deformity as a result of not having adequate medical care. She also faces a higher risk for postpartum depression than adults who give birth, and if left untreated, postpartum depression in a teen can affect her development and her infant’s quality of care, if she keeps the child. She’ll have to misses school for doctors visit, and she is already failing.. She has to deal with these situation daily, using her teenagers abilities. Hopefully, she is able to overcome these struggles with help from an adult and effectively continue with her life. However if she cannot, she may end up pregnant again not having any education. A Guttenmacher Institute study found that a large percentage of teen moms often find themselves homeless, in non-permanent living situations, as they move between the homes of friends, siblings, other family members and baby’s father. So now she may seek the support of the first person offering her kindness, and this may not necessarily be a good thing, she could end up being used and abused with little hope for the future. Living on the streets, or living with an older man at an early age, prostitution and so much more may result from her situation. Her situation now greatly impacts her Physical, Cognitive, and Psychosocial development. .During this time the mother is still developing physically, she needs proper nutrition in order develop properly, now with a baby growing inside her she’ll need more food from every food group so that the baby can develop properly, if this is not done them they both could be malnourish causing problem with the baby and placing extra stress on her body. If she drinks alcohol this can cause the baby to develop fetal alcohol syndrome which occurs when alcohol passes through the placenta, causing potential physical and mental defects. However if she is properly nourish then most likely she will develop fine and her baby will be healthy. Also her cognitive development will be hampers as she will miss school,even drop out and during this stage cognitive development is marked by an increase and missing out will impact the teenagers advancement in knowledge and understanding. Research has shown thatâ€Å"The dropout rate among teen mothers in the U.S. is high, and this population represents a large percentage of the total high school dropouts. Only about half of teen mothers earn a high school diploma by the time they turn 22, and earning a diploma may be more difficult for teen moms who have a second child.† As a result the teenager is not educated, cannot hold a good job and lives in an impoverish condition.Statistics have shown that this behavior is usually repeated with the teenagers children. Psychosocial development is also hampered as during this stage of psychosocial development, according to Erickson, teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.Being pregnant at this stage , the teen as no sense of self or personal identity, she is struggle with the situation, She is identified as a teenage mother, her sense of self is distorted. She is confused, and frustrated and easily mislead into situations that may be worse for her. However if she has support and someone to offer good council this situation may change, her self-esteem can be build and she will not look at herself through the eyes of others, but she will see her potential and see the present situation as a learning experience.

One Soldier Staring Death in the Face :: Interview Essays

One Soldier Staring Death in the Face War is full of violence and death. This violence and death causes severe emotional trauma. I myself cannot imagine what war is like, or what it is like to have someone I love go off to war. I know I'm lucky because of this. When a loved one goes to war, they may die, they will be scared, and they will be gone. Worst of all, their fate is unknown. Any person that loves another, whether it be a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend, will feel sorrow when seeing that loved one go to war. I have seen some of the horrors of war retold in movies, books, pictures, interviews, and television. To me, war is also interesting. The History Channel has always sparked my attention especially WWII specials. I have read Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer and On War and Morality by Robert Holmes. These books have given me philosophical viewpoints of Just War Theory and Pacifism. Just War Theorists believe that war can be justified with a just cause for the war and fighting humanely. Pacifists believe that war is immoral and cannot be justified by any means. After both of these reading I gained many new viewpoints on war, but I still remained uncertain about war. To help solve this dilemma I interviewed a person with first hand experience in war. I believe that interviewing an actual war veteran is the most effective way of learning about war. Brooks Henderson Jr. (277806) of the United States Marine Corps, Third Defense Battalion is a veteran of WWII. He entered the Marine Corps on November 26 1939, in hopes of becoming a Marine Guard of the American Embassy in China. Instead he was among the first Marines to step on Midway Island in 1940 to fortify the island for a possible war in the Pacific. Next he was sent to Pearl Harbor. There he remained in the Marine barracks and trained, specifically with the U.S. 90mm. Anti-Aircraft Gun and the U.S. Army Bofors. The 90mm shoots a twenty-one pound shell in any direction at a distance of 13,500 yards at twenty-eight rounds a minute (Kirk and Young 263). The Bofors are a much smaller anti-aircraft gun that is fully automatic but has no tracking system; the operator has to aim and shoot, unlike the 90mm that had data and a controller to help aim. One Soldier Staring Death in the Face :: Interview Essays One Soldier Staring Death in the Face War is full of violence and death. This violence and death causes severe emotional trauma. I myself cannot imagine what war is like, or what it is like to have someone I love go off to war. I know I'm lucky because of this. When a loved one goes to war, they may die, they will be scared, and they will be gone. Worst of all, their fate is unknown. Any person that loves another, whether it be a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend, will feel sorrow when seeing that loved one go to war. I have seen some of the horrors of war retold in movies, books, pictures, interviews, and television. To me, war is also interesting. The History Channel has always sparked my attention especially WWII specials. I have read Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer and On War and Morality by Robert Holmes. These books have given me philosophical viewpoints of Just War Theory and Pacifism. Just War Theorists believe that war can be justified with a just cause for the war and fighting humanely. Pacifists believe that war is immoral and cannot be justified by any means. After both of these reading I gained many new viewpoints on war, but I still remained uncertain about war. To help solve this dilemma I interviewed a person with first hand experience in war. I believe that interviewing an actual war veteran is the most effective way of learning about war. Brooks Henderson Jr. (277806) of the United States Marine Corps, Third Defense Battalion is a veteran of WWII. He entered the Marine Corps on November 26 1939, in hopes of becoming a Marine Guard of the American Embassy in China. Instead he was among the first Marines to step on Midway Island in 1940 to fortify the island for a possible war in the Pacific. Next he was sent to Pearl Harbor. There he remained in the Marine barracks and trained, specifically with the U.S. 90mm. Anti-Aircraft Gun and the U.S. Army Bofors. The 90mm shoots a twenty-one pound shell in any direction at a distance of 13,500 yards at twenty-eight rounds a minute (Kirk and Young 263). The Bofors are a much smaller anti-aircraft gun that is fully automatic but has no tracking system; the operator has to aim and shoot, unlike the 90mm that had data and a controller to help aim.

Key Elements:The story of an hour :: English Literature

Key Elements:The story of an hour  · Plot: Standard plot. A woman who receive the notice of her husband's death, and when she begins to felt freedom her husband appear again and she can't accept it and fall died.  · Characterization: Few characters a. Mrs. Mallard or Louise: Mallard's wife. Was afflicted with hearth trouble. b. Josephine: Mrs.Mallard's sister. She was who told Mrs.Mallard the notice about her husband death. c. Richard: Mr.Mallard's friend. He heard about the notice about his suppose death. d. Brently Mallard: Mrs.Mallard's husband. He was supposed to be dead.  · Setting: The story takes place in Louise's house.  · Theme: I think we can't live in oppression because that doesn't let us be free. We can find themes like the oppression by men, and women rights.  · Point of view: The opinion or purpose of the author is to create inside us a brainstorm, because he doesn't give a direct opinion of the story or situation.  · Diction: It is simple to the reader understanding. The author used an appropriate language for the time the story develop the plot or the action.  · Narrative techniques: He uses narration and dialogue. The author makes use of the irony and the suspense. Also he used auditory for example, the piercing cry. The story of an hour After I read, analyze and find the key elements of this short story I can wrote down a few personal reflections of this great and suspense short story. Firs of all, I like this particular short story because kept me all the way long in suspense. Also because I hate long stories, dramas and poems. I think this story mention a very important point in all marriages of all times. This point or situation is the oppression of men for women

Essay --

The Career of Psychology A psychologist looks at the behavior and personality of a human, they can study different relationships between people, how they communicate, and how one’s mind works. The field of psychology is so diverse and exciting, which is why it attracts many scholars. Although psychology is very complex, can be difficult to pursue in, and requires a certain mindset, the career pays off with many benefits and the feeling of satisfactory. Job Description There are many different ways to describe what a psychologist does. Psychologists study human beings, how they act, their brain functions, and how they communicate with others. Psychologists traditionally study both normal and abnormal functioning and treat individuals with mental and emotional problems. Many patients that have problems with behavior and emotions can be physically affected in a negative way. Psychologists use research to test the theories they develop. â€Å"Psychologists conduct both basic and applied research, serve as consultants to communities and organizations, diagnose and treat people, and teach future psychologists and those who will pursue other disciplines† (â€Å"Careers In Psychology†). A psychologist can use and focus on different types of methods and approaches in order to gather the information they need. Psychologists focus on two relationships, one between brain function and behavior, and another between the environment and behavior. As scientists, psychologists follow scientific methods using careful observation, experimentation and analysis. There are many different ways a psychologist can work with patients, depending on the situation. â€Å"Psychologists may gather information through controlled laboratory experiments; personality, performa... ... mostly create their own schedules and vacations. One of the greatest benefits to being a psychologist is doing the job itself, helping people. Doing what they do can be very satisfying and worthwhile. Many psychologists are loyal and attached to their job due to the years of training that they have done. Even if psychology is very stressful to pursue in, it comes with many perks and benefits, which is why it results in being a very favorable career. Psychology can be a tough career path to follow, but with hard work it lies great opportunities. I believe that working with others and helping people is very rewarding. Many are thrilled by the exciting changes taking place in the field, most likely because of all the different things you can do with psychology. This is a great career to pursue in, even if it can be stressful, requires hard work, and years of studying.

Communication and conflict Essay

Communication is important, as it is the medium of conveying message, forming the first interface in method of conflict resolution. Communication is almost always within the context of culture, and culture determines the significance of words as well as gestures and non-verbal expressions, affording people with choices of high context or low context communication, depending upon their cultural maturity and ability to handle multi-culturalism and accommodate a range of opinions and ideas other than those familiar to them (Grosse, 2002). During the initial phase of cultural familiarity, communication takes place at low context, meaning that people rely more on direct verbal communication, which is more or less literal in nature. As the cultural relationship progresses, communication interaction moves ahead on continuum to become high context, and it becomes more interpersonal and contextual, minimizing chances of misunderstanding and confusion. However, in cases where the entire cultural paradigms are set in low context or high context communication patterns, cultural crossover becomes a difficult barrier for all the involved parties. Effective cross cultural communication is centered upon knowledge, empathy and intercultural sensitivity (ibid). The correct approach in such cases is be flexible, adaptable and receptive to all views, no matter how contrary or incongruous they appear. A successful cross cultural communication situation demands coming over these contradictions and differences in opinion to form a harmonious vision. A positive and patient listening attitude is also valuable as it allows people to fathom emotions of others and makes them perceptible to alternate view points. Finally, the most important attribute in cross cultural communication is recognition that every culture is correct in its own context and each has to yield some ground to reach a harmonious consensus (ibid). Discussion on mediation and skills in conflict resolution Effective communication strategies are keys to resolve conflict by providing channels that provide expression of grievances and bring conflicting parties together. In the field of conflict management, communication strategies help through the channels of 1. Negotiation: Negotiation has emerged as an important form of conflict management within organizational and social setups. As such research in communication theory in conflict management has started to pay close attention to communication behaviors, types and strategies towards successful negotiation. Negotiation, as a part of managing conflict, requires interested parties to trade proposals for settlement that include, out of court settlements, business contracts, collective bargaining contract etc (Womack, 1990, 32). As Womack further elaborates, generally the process of negotiation proceeds through motives that are both competitive and cooperative. The approach of communication in the entire process of negotiation is concerned with the messages that are transferred among negotiators and the concerned parties. Communication intervenes in the process of negotiation through its both verbal and nonverbal forms and constitutes the entire base on which the goals and terms of the bargain are negotiated. Communication plays the central role in not only developing the relationship among the parties in conflict, but also in determining its direction. It is also central in every form of bargaining process, whether the bargaining is done for organizational form of conflict management, involves conflict resolution, negotiation on legal agreements or for negotiation in inter-group an intra group conflict. The entire role of communication in negotiation processes and strategies is quite vast and it ranges from defining the conflict issues, selection and implementation of strategies to presenting and defending the viable alternatives and finally helping in reaching on a solution (Womack, 1990, 35). 2. Third party intervention: Third party intervention in conflict situation is a tricky and challenging situation. It is considered as one of those areas that offers real test to the communication skills of the intervening person. Although mediation requires a neutral and third party to bring the disputants on the resolving chairs and solve the conflict, the mediator per se, has no authority and commanding power to force the parties into acquiescing to an agreement. At the best, the mediator can use persuasive and convincing dialogues through which the involved parties voluntarily agree to reach at accord through advises, admonishments, ideas, and views of the mediator and break into meaningful dialogue with each other (Burrel, 1990, 54). Its easy to see that this entire procedure requires very high level of communication skills on the part of the mediator to successfully negotiate agreement among the conflicting parties. According to Burrel, one of the important communication skills in third party intervention is the ability to collect as much information as possible on the cause, background, and nature of conflict as well as on all the parties and individuals that are involved in the conflict. Burrel informs that an effective communication strategy to gather information is question-asking within a variety of communication approaches, some for example being, employment interviews, initial interactions and parent-child discourses, although there has been insignificant research on role of particular types of questions in mediation itself. However, it is established beyond question that the questioning abilities of a third party mediator are very important in striking a collaborative approach to the entire process of conflict management.

Boston Beer Company Case Essay

Background Information_: The Boston Beer Company, which was founded in 1984, had a very diversified thriving product line which entailed about twenty different kinds of beers. Their product was available in over nineteen various countries and used a network of around four hundred distributors. Revenues grew from 21 million dollars to 210 million dollars from inception to 1997. _Problem and Opportunity Identification_: As a result of the company’s product line and its variety, the company encountered issues sustaining and upholding of their products such as Lightship – which has been withering in recent years and which doesn’t have the volume like other products to sustain distribution. Since the light beer business that Lightship belonged to was one that was rapidly growing, the Boston Beer Company felt the need to investigate its products disappointment. The research to do so took place in different forms such as competition, market, and financial analyses, customer surveys, and finally deep emotional analysis using the ZMET technique. _Alternatives_: One option the research team is considering is introducing a new light beer into their product line. It is understandable that since the high-priced light beer industry is one of the biggest and rapidly growing field in the beer industry, the Boston Beer Company wants to occupy and take advantage of this field to further enhance its name and maintain its market share and its standing. However, there are issues in terms of positioning and marketing of this product. The product needs to be communicated as a light, rich, fun beer and targeted at a different audience that entails women. In addition to the fact that this option might cause conflict in terms of the brand image being a macho rough beer brewer, using it doesn’t solve the problem for Lightship if Lightship is going to be kept in the market offerings. Another option the research team considered was repositioning Lightship and throwing in more effort and investment into the marketing of the product. It was obvious that, compared to one of their biggest competitors Heineken, the Boston Beer Company has had trouble and sort-of failed to build a unique brand identity for this product. The product was not successfully differentiated and positioned in the market in order for it to build market share and improve standings. This failure could make it difficult for the company to reposition itself and change consumer perceptions to gain their interests and so it might be a waste of time and efforts. Finally, the last option is the dreaded one of not competing in this realm of the industry. This is a very extreme option since this realm is a huge and growing segment of the market and they would be missing out on a lot if they decide to pull out it. The failure to fit into this field, however, might have proved that the Boston Beer Company is not competent enough and ready to compete in this segment. _Critical Issues_: There are two main critical issues that the company should consider when making the decision about their situation in the light beer industry. One critical issue concerns the brand image – the company has an umbrella brand image of being a premium masculine macho craft beer brewer and shaking that could be seen to influence consumer perceptions. The second critical issue relates to the field study and the results it yielded – do they answer our questions about how to position the light beer product or on whether we should even introduce/keep products in this segment of the market. _Conclusion and Recommendation_: After reviewing the results of the various research techniques, the recommended option would be to introduce a new high-end light beer into the market (while probably retiring Lightship). Making use of the ZMET research results, this new product should be positioned in a manner that represents an active, refreshing, and healthy lifestyle. Having a new product instead of improving Lightship is best in order to avoid the difficult efforts of having to change stubborn consumer perceptions. Also, in terms of the umbrella brand image of BBC being a macho tough image, having a separate offering targeted at other audiences will probably add to the image of having two instead of eroding the existing image.