The Bible version controversy :: essays research papers

A controversy of immense silliness has recently broken out among Evangelicals regarding the validity of modern, conservative translations of the Bible like the New American Standard, the New International, and the New King James. The controversy was ignited by a book written by Gail Riplinger entitled New Age Bible Versions. The only thing sillier than the controversy is the book that sparked it. Remember the old joke? -- "If the King James Version was good enough for the Apostle Paul, then it's good enough for me!" Well, Riplinger tries to convert the joke into gospel. A Ridiculous Thesis Her thesis is that the King James Version is the one and only pure translation (in any language!) and that all the new translations that have flooded the market in recent years (including the most conservative) are part of a Satanic, New Age conspiracy to undermine the deity of Jesus and the credibility of God's Word. The book is mean-spirited and vicious in its attacks upon the godly evangelical scholars who labored so hard to produce the modern versions, not to undermine the Word, but to make it more understandable to the average reader. Unfortunately the book has spawned an army of Riplinger disciples who feel it is their god-ordained duty to go forth and purify the Church by demanding the exclusive use of the King James Version. Picking up on their mentor's divisive spirit, they are labeling as heretics all fellow Christians and Christian leaders who prefer to use some version other than the King James. To illustrate how insane this silliness has become, consider a recent article that appeared in the newsletter of one of Riplinger's most enthusiastic supporters, a prophecy teacher by the name of Texe Marrs. Calling the new conservative translations "unholy" and "grotesque," he proceeded to condemn four leading prophecy teachers because they refused to endorse Riplinger's book and join with him in certifying the King James Version as the only reliable translation. The four he condemned as "misguided leaders" and "false witnesses" were Dave Hunt, Peter LaLonde, Arno Froese, and John Ankerberg. Two of these, Hunt and Ankerberg, happen to be among the leading defenders of the Christian faith today! Even more incredible is the fact that all four men use the King James Version in their preaching and teaching -- and Marrs knows that they do! Still, they must be condemned as heretics because they refuse to denounce the "Satanic, New Age" versions.

For What Reasons Did the Coalition Government Abolish Police?

For what reasons did the Coalition Government abolish police authorities in 2012? What problems do you think are raised by the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners? This essays objective is to take into consideration the rationale of the Coalition governments’ decision to replace police authorities with elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC). A critique and a background of the police authorities operations will be discussed and evaluated. A brief history of policing before police authorities were established will also be explored.Furthermore, the reasons why there was a radical reform to PCC’s will be debated and the problems that may arise. Policing has always been a challenging issue and it most likely will always be challenging. Sir Robert Peel’s first principle of policing stated: â€Å"The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder† (Cited in Theresa, M 2010). There has been an attempt to always c ling onto this. The only difference is how certain authorities or political groups approach it. In the nineteenth century, autonomy and power were located within boroughs, locally.After a few attempts to try to centralise the police force and a few police corruption scandals which occurred in the 1950s, it was finally the time for the government to produce a centralised, professionalised group of senior police officers. In 1964, under the Police Act, these smaller, more manageable forces were to be known as â€Å"police authorities†. Their role was to ‘‘secure the maintenance and of an adequate and efficient police force for their area’’. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). However, the police authorities are now being replaced by elected PCCs.The main purpose of this reform is to restore the drive for local policing priorities and the public by leading engagement with local policing partners. This will boost the empowerment of local communities in crimina l justice affairs. Beginning with a little history of how and why police authorities were introduced. Throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, police power was largely seen as a responsibility of local government, and police were controlled by the appropriate local institution.The policing were in the hands of the local government and the boroughs of England and Wales, by whom fiercely protected the police powers exercised by their elected watch committees. These powers were symbolic of the city's independence, and police forces were crucial exercisers of executive power locally, concerning poor relief, licensing laws, the regulation of the streets, and the imposition of morality on the community. The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act introduced democracy to the self-governing towns of England and Wales.The only compulsory statutory duty was to select a watch committee to run the police force. The self-governing towns can be described as self-confident, prosperou s and autonomous. . The committees had complete power over the activities and composition of their forces. (Citied in Brogden, M 1982). The government aimed at increasing centralisation within the police force but after a few attempts to intervene, they failed. The first attempt by the state to reduce the autonomy of the towns and cities came after the 1853 Select Committee on Police, which recommended extending compulsory police provision to all areas.The Home Office were under no doubt that, the most efficient way to run each force would be to put it ‘under the orders of Government. However, these recommendations from the Home Office had to be consulted with the opposition of the local government. In 1854 and 1856, the Home Office's attempts to pass police bills that limited the rights of boroughs to control their own police forces were defeated by the borough. The boroughs also had total autonomy and democratic control over operational decisions.The watch committees, meetin g weekly, had the power to hire and fire members of their forces and were prepared to exercise it. (Citied in Emsley, C 1996). Further action was done by the Labour representatives in the 1920s to gain centralisation. By 1939, Labour controlled 18 out of 83 county boroughs. The Home Office took increasing responsibility for producing a class of leaders for police forces, and thus intervened increasingly in matters of training, promotion and appointment. The Home Office also began to intervene more in the appointment of Chief Constables.The 1950s Whitehall introduced a policy of refusing to appoint any Chief Constable who had no experience in a different force: this was clearly designed to create a more nationally homogenous and professionalised group of senior police officers. Since the increased effort for involvement with the boroughs and watch committees, there was a growing demand of professionalism within the police. The boroughs had co-operated fully in modernising and homogen ising the police forces, through co-operative training and communication. Citied in Loveday, B 1994) Between 1919 and 1964, the state tried using ‘efficiency', ‘economy', and ‘national security' as reasons to centralise control, before successfully employing ‘corruption' to achieve this. The 1960 Royal Commission was actively steered by the Home Office along its own centralist agenda, resulting in the 1964 Police Act, subsuming city forces into counties. These were influenced by the nature of two policing scandals of the late 1950s, which gave the Home Office a convenient point of entry with which to attack the status quo. (Citied in (Ludtgarten, L 1986).Both scandals were cases of corruption within the boroughs, the Brighton Borough police force in 1957, where the chief constable and two officers were arrested and charged with a variety of corrupt practises, and in Labour- controlled Nottingham in 1958, where there was an investigation launched on Labour cou ncillors and succeeded to prove that two labour councillors and the Secretary of the District Labour Party had been bribed on a visit to East Germany. Events such as mentioned above involving corruption led to the boroughs finally losing their police powers completely.A royal commission on the police had been appointed in 1960 to review the constitutional position of the police throughout Great Britain, and in 1964, the Police Act was introduced. (Citied in Willams, C 2003). Returning to answering the question more directly now, the Police Act of 1946 mirrored the interests of greater efficiency and greater central control over policing. It allowed for the amalgamation of existing forces into more efficient units, merging them into a more manageable number of 43 forces in England and Wales.The watch committees were replaced with police authorities. This new system was characterized as â€Å"the tripartite structure† of police accountability. The tripartite system distributes responsibilities between the Home Office, the local police authority, and the chief constable of the force. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). This tripartite system provides accountability to Parliament through the Home Secretary (who has responsibility for policing policy including centrally setting key priorities that are formalised within a National Policing Plan).Police Authorities were composed of councillors (two-thirds) and magistrates (one-third) and their role was to ‘‘secure the maintenance and of an adequate and efficient police force for their area’’. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). To liberate this duty they were provided with a number of specific and statutory responsibilities which included appointing and dismissing its senior officers, making sure arrangements are in place to consult the local community about the policing of their area and heir priorities, publish an annual local policing plan and a best value performance plan, setting out the pol icing priorities, performance targets, and the allocation of resources, to publish a three-year strategy plan, which must be approved by the Home Secretary and monitor the performance of the force in delivering the policing plan. (Joyce, P 2011: 118, 127). Although there have been issues raised about police authorities and these concerns will be brought to the surface, it can also be argued that police authorities have constituently tried to provide â€Å"an efficient and effective† police force.This can be shown by all the legislation that has been introduced. The 1994 Police and Magistrates Act, Courts Act (PMCA) 1995, the Police Act 1996, and the Police Reform Act 2002, have all endorsed the tripartite arrangements and aimed to fundamentally ensure and provide an adequate, efficient and effective police force. ( Citied in Williams, C 2003). The introduction of the policing pledge in 2008 by the Labour party, although it has been scrapped by the Coalition government, aimed at restoring public faith and to ensure the services being provided locally were adequate.Promises such as providing monthly local crime rates, answering all non-emergency calls promptly, providing information to the community on their Neighbourhood Policing Team i. e. where they are based, how to contact them and how to work with them were stated on this document, to increase community engagement and involvement. (Citied in The Policing Pledge, 2008). There has been placed a great deal of importance on empowerment, localisation, decentralisation of power and community involvement. There has been many green and white papers published to support this.David Blunkett’s â€Å"Civil Renewal† Agenda (2003) and David Cameron’s â€Å"Big Society† Agenda (2010) has influenced trends towards â€Å"community engagement, confident and cooperation† within their respective policing reform programmes continues. The agendas extensively focus on the responsibility of the government and every citizen’s efforts to strengthen communities, to revitalise our democracy and to provide more power and opportunity into people’s hands and security for all. It is believed that the engagement of everyone is necessary to make that happen; the government alone cannot fix every problem.Furthermore, Sir Ronnie Flanagan conducted the report of â€Å"The Review of Policing† in 2008. Flanagan stated that involving local communities in political decision-making processes is crucial and delivering in partnerships, developing the workforce and improving performance at force levels. (Flanagan, 2008). As mentioned above, there were concerns regarding the police authorities. One of the main issues was that central control undermined local police affairs power and authority. In the early 1980’s, there were clashes between police authorities and chief constables relating to who would have the final say in particular activity.The reliance of t he Home Office by chief constables tended to increase the power of the central government over local police arrangements. In addition, the introduction of the 1994 Police and Magistrates Courts Act enabled the Home Secretary to determine and set national objectives or priorties. This task was previously done by chief constables. Furthermore, the police areas would be assessed on their attainment by comparing to a set of performance targets. Empowerment, localisation, and decentralisation are clearly not desired. ( Citied in Williams, C 2003).Additionally, the situation continued to be aggravating as further developments such as the targets imposed by central government were extended and became the key tool of performance management. Police forces had to deliver on activities, which were determined centrally. Public Service Agreements (PSAs) were introduced in 1998 to promote clarity in service delivery, again centrally. This target regime led to the bulk of police work focusing on a chieving the targets imposed on them, this made it impossible to concentrate on local concerns. This again suggests the central power undermining powers and authority locally.Also, it was suggested that centrally determined targets â€Å"tend to distort priorties, tempting officers into using their tine in unproductive ways into directly fiddling performance figures† (Loveday and Reid, 2003: 19). Similarly, they created a â€Å"counting culture† within the police service whereby â€Å"only what got measured got done† (Loveday and Reid, 2003: 22). Additional research was undertaken in 2003 investigating the role of police authorities in public engagement. Participants that were interviewed saw police authorities’ independence from the police force as very important.This was because of the risk of corruption or abuse of power. â€Å"If it was 100 per cent fully independent, then I think that would make a lot of difference to people, and I think they would feel a lot happier knowing that it was being†¦kept an eye on. † (Home Office 2003: 19). However, many participants thought that police authorities did not appear to be independent enough, and this could undermine the community’s confidence and trust in them. There was a feeling in many groups that the number of independent members should increase or even that authorities should be composed completely of independent members.There were worries that the independent members might not have a fair say, as councillors and magistrates have an overall majority on the authority. (Citied in Home Office, 2003). â€Å"â€Å"You’re paying†¦.. it’s your community, you live there, so you should have a say in how it’s policed. † (Home Office 2003: 17). The community does seem to desire to get involved in the decision making, however when asked who made decisions about spending and who was responsible for the monitoring of police performance, there was very little spontaneous mention of police authorities. (Citied in Home Office, 2003).These findings suggest that police authorities are not adequate or efficient enough, people living in the communities have very little knowledge of police authorities and the question is why? More should be done to advertise and involve the community in the decision making process of what happens in their communities. Their involvement would increase the confidence in the police and create a more coherent community. Conversely, as the Coalition government scrapped the policing pledge, they also disposed police authorities in 2o12 and replaced them with elected police and crime commissioners (PCC).The Coalition government strongly believed that it was vital to replace bureaucratic accountability from central government to democratic accountability to the public. PCCs will make forces truly accountable to the communities they serve, ensuring that resources are properly targeted to where they are n eeded and giving the public a greater say in measures to reduce crime and improve community safety. The main aim of PCC was to â€Å"put power directly in the hands of the public†. (Home Affairs Committee, 2o1o:10). The key powers of PCCs are to set the police force budget and to hire and fire chief constables. Citied in Home Affairs Committee, 2010). The Elected PCC’s have overcome issues that the police authorities did not: the community involvement, empowerment and local governance is greater. The community elects their own PCC’s locally and it represents the drive for local policing priorities and the public by leading engagement with local policing partners. This new approach to policing is boosting the empowerment of local communities in criminal justice affairs. They will hold the elected chief constable to account; making sure that policing is responsive to the communities’ needs.There is an increased democratic accountability. (Citied in Home Aff airs Committee, 2010). However, this new reform also faces a few critiques. Lord Blair referred to this proposal as â€Å"the most lamentable provision about policing I have ever encountered† (Blair, 2011). Firstly, the PCC will replace the 17 or 19 members who currently represent a police authority. It is impossible to imagine how one person can adequately represent the diverse demands of the vast range of communities found in the areas covered by police forces, whether they are heavily populated urban ones or cover geographically large rural areas. Joyce, P 2011). As the policing needs and concerns of neighbourhoods are usually vastly different and are often in direct competition for finite police resources, it is a concern that a PCC will seek to direct policing to address the localised, sectionalised or political interests of those who elected him or her into office thus serving to politicise policing and opening the door to the possibility of corruption. (Joyce, P 2011). Before the 1964 Police Act, there were claims and investigations into policing corruption scandals: the Borough police force in 1957 and in Nottingham in 1958. Citied in Willams, C 2003). Its due to these concerns about policing corruption, the police force became centralised. This is a major concern and strict safeguards and monitoring will have to be established to avoid it from happening again. Secondly, there is the question as to whether this reform was needed. It is fair to suggest that it is intensely politicized and a populist measure. Valid criticisms can be made concerning the operations of police authorities, however this did not mean they were performing a poor job and providing a poor police service.Party politics were not injected onto the agenda. In fact, there was a good working relationship between the police authorities and the chief constables in many areas and the communities and local policing benefited from this. (Joyce, P 2011). Ian Loader (2008) stated that the â€Å"government is urged to take another ride on the law and order merry-go-round, to issue a fresh batch of crowd-pleasing-measures that can appease its apparently angry and anxious consumers†. Many will harmonize with this.The government is in need of public support, confidence and trust and the best way to get the local communities or â€Å"customers† support is to respond to our demands. As was mentioned above, the community would like more opportunities to get involved in the way their communities are being policed and the new reform of elected PCC’s can be perceived as a crowd-pleasing-measure. (Citied in Loader, I 2008). Garland again has famously said that the policy-making has become profoundly politicized and populist.Policy measures are constructed in ways that value public opinion over the views of experts and the evidence of research. â€Å"The dominant voice of crime policy is no longer the expert or even the practitioner but that of the long -suffering, ill served people- especially the victim and the fearful, anxious members of the public†. (Stated in The Culture of Control, 2001). Furthermore, a range of views were put forward on the role of PCCs from the consultation feedback and it was not all positive.Concerns have been expressed that a PCC, as a single individual, may not be effective across a whole force area and find it difficult to engage with communities sufficiently. Moreover, there was concerns received about the checks and balances proposed in the consultation. Some members believed that the arrangements might prove overly bureaucratic or create confusing lines of accountability for chief constables and the public. Others felt that they were too weak, or sought more detail on how the Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) would provide a real challenge and scrutiny. Citied in Theresa, M 2010). Many also expressed concerns about the political nature of the role of the PCC and in particular the involvement of c andidates supported by the main political parties. They believe this would risk cutting across the operational decisions made by chief constables and other police officers, and this would most definitely inject party politics, whereby police authorities did not. Additionally, there needs to be appropriate and respectable safeguards to be put in place regarding to circumstances under which a PCC could dismiss or suspend a chief constable.These issues, if they were to ever occur, could create tension between PCCs and chief constables. The community will have a knock-on effect from this, as they would be the ones feeling the consequences. There would not be an adequate and efficient service provided to the community. That was the aim of PCCs and if it does not meet its own aims, it would fail dramatically. (Citied in Theresa, M 2010). It is fair to say police authorities and PCCs have issues to be concerned about but also have positive points.Police authorities and the 1964 Police Act did structure the police force and it did aim at providing â€Å"an efficient and effective† police force. This is consistently shown by the constant need to improve and advance the services being provided to the public . The 1994 Police and Magistrates Act, Courts Act (PMCA) 1995, the Police Act 1996, and the Police Reform Act 2002, the Policing Pledge 2008, have all endorsed the tripartite arrangements and aimed to fundamentally ensure and provide an adequate, efficient and effective police force.However, the demand for empowerment, localisation, decentralisation of power and community involvement perpetually grew stronger too and the police authorities did set priorities and standards nationally, and not locally. Research was undertaken in 2003 investigating the role of police authorities in public engagement. participants that were interviewed saw police authorities’ independence from the police force as very important. This was because of the risk of corruption or abuse of power. You’re paying†¦.. it’s your community, you live there, so you should have a say in how it’s policed. (Home Office 2003: 17). The community does desire to get involved in the decision making, however the lack of knowledge of police authorities and how you can get involved or the lack of liberation of empowerment and localisation should be questioned. (Citied in Home Office, 2003). The Coalition government 2012 decided to introduce PCCs. The ain of this reform was to to democratic accountability to the public and to â€Å"put power directly in the hands of the public†. (Home Affairs Committee, 2o1o:10). In this case, the input from the public is greater and have greater local empowerment.However, PCC faces its problems too. It does face greater likelihood of policing corruption, a PCC, as a single individual, may not be effective across a whole force area and find it difficult to engage with communities sufficiently. 17 to 19 members a re being replaced by one PCC. It is impossible imagine how one person can adequately represent the diverse demands of the vast range of communities and activities. In conclusion, the question still remains as to whether this reform was needed, the police authorities were not proving a poor service or doing a poor job.Garland (2001) would suggest that the policy-making has become profoundly politicized and populist. The introduction of PCC was just a populist measure. However, the local communities may benefit from the empowerment and local prioritisation and if they do, PCCs have succeeded their aims. References †¢Blair, L. (2011), ‘‘Speech in the House of Lords 27 April’’, HL Debs Session 2010-11, Vol 727, Col 137 †¢Blunkett, David (2003) ‘Civil Renewal: A New Agenda’ , London: Home Office †¢Brogden, M (1982), â€Å"The Police: Autonomy and Consent†, London: Academic Press. Emsley, C (1996), â€Å"The English Police: a P olitical and Social History†, Harlow: Longman. †¢Flanagan, Sir Ronnie (Feb 2008) The Review of Policing: Final Report. London: Home Office †¢Garland, D (2001), â€Å"The Culture of Control. † Oxford: Oxford University Press. †¢Home Affairs Committee, (2008). ‘‘Policing in the twenty-first century’’, Seventh Report, Session 2007/08, House of Commons Paper 364, TSO, London. †¢Joyce, P. (2011). Police reform: from police authorities to police and crime commissioners. Sage, London. †¢Loveday, B. (1994), â€Å"The Police and Magistrates Courts Act†.Policing 10(4), pp 221-233 †¢Lustgarten, L. (1986), â€Å"The Governance of the Police†, London: Sweet & Maxwell. †¢The Coalition Manifesto: â€Å"Our Programme for Government† (May 2010) †¢Theresa, M (2010). â€Å"Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people†. Home Office †¢Home Affairs Committee (2010), ‘à ¢â‚¬ËœPolicing: police and crime commissioners’’, Second Report, Sessions 2010/11, House of Commons Paper 511, TSO, London. Bibliography †¢David Cameron speech (19 July 2010) â€Å"Our Big Society Agenda†. London: Home Office Date accessed: 25 November 2012 http://www. conservatives. om/News/Speeches/2010/07/David_Cameron_Our_Big_Society_Agenda. aspx †¢Home Office (2003), â€Å"The role of police authorities in public engagement† Date Accessed: 3 December 2012 http://library. npia. police. uk/docs/hordsolr/rdsolr3703. pdf †¢Loader, I (2008). â€Å"The great victim of this get-tough hyperactivity is Labour†. The Guardian Date accessed: 28 November 2012 http://www. guardian. co. uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice. ukcrime †¢The Policing Pledge (2008). London: Home Office Date Accessed: 1 December 2012 http://www. met. police. uk/pledge/our_pledge_leaflet. pdf

Black Arts & Black Aesthetic Essay

Larry Neal’s â€Å"Black Arts Movements† and Addison Gayle’s â€Å"The Black Aesthetic† are two identical mission statements for the black audience: set yourself apart from the white culture and give your culture the recognition it deserves. The two pieces are similar in ideas and purposes. The black communities were tired of always adapting to the ways of the white culture because it was the â€Å"right† way to act. The black community wanted to define their own culture and these pieces were words of encouragement for blacks to step outside the white ways of thinking and acting and step into an acceptance of their own urbanity. Once the differences were accepted that’s when you start seeing the different relationships between whites and blacks. These written pieces were significant changes in thoughts and actions at this time, and they weren’t useless. The blacks were really hoping to set themselves apart from the rest, to have people recognize they were different from the white oppressive mind set, and it worked. Larry Neal’s â€Å"The Black Arts Movement†, written in 1968, speaks directly to the needs and ambitions of Black America at the time. The main goal in â€Å"The Black Arts Movement† is to emphasize the necessity for black culture to define their world in their own terms. Larry Neal asks the question in his piece, â€Å"†¦whose vision of the world is more meaningful, ours or the white oppressors? † (Neal page 2040). He is asking his audience to move away from a white oppressor vision of the world and create their own vision of the world: a vision that has their own beliefs, thoughts, and ideas; a vision that stands out from the white patterns that have consisted years prior. The Black artists’ primary duty is to express the needs of the Black people. Neal explains this idea by saying, â€Å"†¦main thrust of his new breed of contemporary writers to confront the contradictions arising out of the Black man’s experience in the raciest West† (Neal page 2039). In other words, the goals of these new artists is to use a concept of â€Å"protest literature† (page 2040) and direct this new literature directly towards black people to summon hope and â€Å"[awaken] Black people to the meaning of their lives† (Neal page 2042). The Black community had been living in an oppressive society for years prior to this new movement. Neal believed The Black Aesthetic was the destruction of white ideas, and the destruction of white ways of looking at their world. Addison Gayle Jr. was another of these contemporary artists who encouraged a new way of life to the black community in his piece, â€Å"The Black Aesthetic†. The Black Aesthetic movement was the practice that helped those seeking to navigate and understand the experiences of black peoples. Gayle explains the Black Aesthetic movement: â€Å"The question for the black critic today is not how beautiful is a melody, a play, a poem, a novel, but how much more beautiful has the poem†¦made the life of a single black man?†¦ The Black Aesthetic, then, as conceived by this writer†¦is a means of helping black people out of the polluted mainstream of Americanism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gayle 1916). This is a significant quote because Gayle, and many of the Black Aesthetic artists at the time, really believe that these works of art are not for the critics’ entertainment. Instead they are gritty stories of these Black Peoples’ experiences and they are intended to free the Black Man of an oppressive white America. They are to encourage these black men and women to stop conforming to the white culture and instead embrace their own. The black aesthetic period is so significant because it was a time where the artists made a significant shift in the opinions of the white culture towards the black culture, and even more, it gave a chance to the Black community to find their voice in the madness and be able to stand out amongst the white, oppressive view points of the society they were living in at the time. These two pieces of work connect really well with each other. Essentially I could connect Gayle’s piece to almost any Black Aesthetic piece just because they all have similar viewpoints in regards to the freedom of the oppressive white American culture. However, Larry Neal directly comments on the Black Aesthetics. He describes the Black Arts Movement and the Black Aesthetic as one. Neal says, â€Å"Black Art is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept. As such, it envisions an art that speaks directly to the needs and aspirations of Black America† (Neal page 2039). This goes with Gayle’s beliefs that the Black Aesthetic is directly made for the needs of the black peoples. Gayle says, â€Å"A critical methodology has no relevance to the black community unless it aids men in becoming better than they are† (page 1917). Gayle and Neal both have this vision for Black Americans that they be freed from this movement, not pushed further into oppression, and they believe the arts can advocate them into being better. The encouragement the artists have for the rest of their brothers and sisters is what makes these two pieces so important, especially when they’re being compared. The black people, whether they are the creators or just regular middle-class folks, share visions of positivity during hardships. They want their brothers to come out and top, so they fight together. The Black Aesthetic movement was a time period where the black Americans, whom had the privilege to create and share poems, stories, and plays, were able to share their creations with the rest of the population to motivate them. Gayle and Neal’s goals are the same: they want the blacks to find their own identity, present themselves differently, and stop following in the footsteps of the whites. They believe that these works of art really can do wonders of change for their brothers and sisters. These stories and creations, poem and plays, aren’t just useless, fictional words that these artist create out of air. They are real life accounts of the battles the black culture have fought in hopes that the oppressive layer of the white America finally comes off their backs. In the following quote, Neal demonstrates how the arts can really be significant. Neal says, â€Å"Poetry is a concrete function, actions†¦Poems are physical entities: fists, daggers, airplane poems, and poems that shoot guns. Poems are transformed†¦ into personal forces†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 2041). In relationship to Neal, Gayle compares the oppression to war. These two works are compatible to each other. Gayle believes the two cultures are at war, while Neal has the perfect weapon: works of art. Gayle explains the society’s conditions by saying, â€Å"The serious black artist of today is at war with the American society as few have been throughout American history† (Gayle page 1914). Gayle and Neal agree upon this. The Black American culture was at a war with the white American culture and the black artists were doing everything in their power to free themselves of this war using the one weapon they were best at using: words. Using these words of hope and encouragement, and visions of freedom and opportunities, the artists created possibilities. Neal and Gayle had similar visions for the future, as well. They both believed this movement was growing and they believed that growth had been evident in white peoples’ eyes already. Gayle states this growth by saying, â€Å"The white academician†¦calls upon a black man to write the introduction. The editor then declares that his anthology ‘represents the best black literature’ or that he has chosen these works which rank the best in American artistic production. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Gayle page 1918). In saying that a black man can write an introduction and rank the best in production is a significant amount of change for the Black community. The white editors are accepting of the different writing styles and topics, and still finding that it’s quality literature even when it’s unlike theirs; a goal the black aesthetic writers have worked to achieve. Neal has a similar idea on hope, but he also adds his beliefs on the growth of this movement by saying, â€Å"Afro-American life and history is full of creative possibilities, and the movement is just beginning to perceive them. Just beginning to understand that the most meaningful statements†¦must come from the Third World of which Black America is a part† (Neal page 2050). This statement is quite similar to Gayle’s in that the white society in America is starting to recognize the importance in black arts which is a significant change because it’s one that they worked towards for many years. At the time, progress was still being made, but some progress had been made and it was enough to make them feel happy and even more hopeful for the future of the movement. The significance in the pieces is that they set their black community apart from the rest of America. Years prior the whites oppressed the blacks and so at this point in time, the black people were trying desperately to free themselves. In comparing these two pieces you really start to see the similar ideas the black people had about their community. These ideas weren’t just small things a few people decided to write about. They were words of hope for the future. A mission statement to set themselves apart from the rest, testimonies of what the artists have been through, and explanations of why they’re different and why they should be recognized as that. The incredible thing about it: it worked. Gayle, Addison, Jr. , and Larry Neal. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York [u. a. : Norton, 2004. Print. ]

How to Stay Motivated in the Final Weeks of School

How to Stay Motivated in the Final Weeks of School If college were easy, more people would be attending- and graduating. And while college can be challenging, there are definitely times when things are more difficult than usual. The end of the semester, for example- and especially the end of the spring semester- can sometimes feel harder to get through than the rest of the year combined. Youre low on energy, time, and resources, and its more challenging than usual to recharge yourself. So just how can you stay motivated at the end of the semester? Try Changing Your Routine How long has it been since you mixed up your schedule? As in...really mixed it up? You might be in a bit of a funk because youre just going through the motions: go to bed late, wake up tired, go to class, procrastinate. If you need to snap yourself out of it, try reworking your routine, if even just for a day or two. Go to bed early. Get enough sleep. Eat a healthy breakfast. Eat a healthy lunch. Do your homework in the morning so you can hang out, without guilt, all afternoon and evening. Go off campus to study. Mix things up so that your brain can engage and recharge in a new context. Add Some Exercise When youre low on energy, adding exercise to your routine sounds positively dreadful. Making the time for physical activity, however, can help relieve your stress, increase your energy, and clear things up mentally. Go for a nice long run outside, if you can, or join an exercise class that youve never been to. Play a pick-up game with friends or just zone out on the rowing machine. No matter what you do, promise yourself youll do it for at least 30 minutes. Chance are youll be amazed at how much better you feel. Schedule in Some Downtime Even if you know youll be hanging out with people throughout the week, it can be hard to really let yourself relax if youre worried about everything else you have to do. Consequently, make an official night out, dinner out, coffee date, or something similar with friends. Put it on your calendar. And then let yourself really relax and rejuvenate while youre out. Get off Campus and Forget Youre a Student for a Little While Everything you do probably revolve around your college life- which, while understandable, can also be wearisome. Leave your backpack behind and head to a museum, a musical performance, or even a community event. Forget that youre a student and just let yourself enjoy the moment. Your college responsibilities will wait for you. Remind Yourself of Your Long-term Goals Studying can be exhausting when you think of all you have to read and learn and memorize and write within the last few weeks of the term. However, thinking about your long-term goals- both professionally and personally- can be incredibly motivating. Visualize or even write down what you want your life to be like in 5, 10, and even 20 years. And then use those goals to help you plow through your to-do list. Make Attainable Short-term Goals While looking at your long-term goals can be motivating, focusing on your short-term goals can also be incredibly helpful. Make simple, very-short-term (if not downright immediate) goals that you can reach with a little extra effort. What is the one big thing youd like to get done by the end of the day today? By the end of the day tomorrow? By the end of the week? You dont have to list everything; just list one or two tangible things that you can aim for and reasonably expect to accomplish. Spend an afternoon imagining the details of your life after college. Focus on as many details as possible. Where will you live? What will your house or apartment look like? How will it be decorated? What kinds of things will you have hanging on the walls? What kind of dishes will you have? What kinds of people will you have over? What will your work life be like? What will you wear? What will you eat for lunch? How will you commute? What kinds of situations will make you laugh and feel joyful? Who will be part of your social circle? What will you do to have fun and relax? Spend a good hour or two imagining the details of what your life will be like. And then refocus and recharge yourself so you can finish your semester and make progress toward creating that life. Do something creative. Sometimes, the demands of college mean you end up spending your entire day doing things you have to do. When was the last time you did something you want to do? Allocate an hour or two to do something creative not for a grade, not for an assignment, but because you simply need to let your brain do something else. Do something new and silly. Are you tired of having all of the items on your to-do list be serious and productive? Add something that adds some brevity and good, old-fashioned silliness. Take a cooking class, go fly a kite, read a trashy magazine, finger paint, get in a water gun fight with friends, or run through some sprinklers. It doesnt matter what you do as long as you let yourself be goofy and enjoy it for what it is: ridiculous. Find a new place to study. Even if youre lacking motivation, you still have certain things to do like studying. If you cant change your to-do list, change where you get things done. Find a new place to study on campus so that you at least feel like youre mixing things up instead of repeating the same routine over and over and over again. Set up a reward system for yourself. It doesnt have to be fancy or expensive to be motivating. Pick two things on your to-do list and set an easy reward, like that candy bar in the vending machine youre always daydreaming about. When you finish those two tasks, treat yourself! Similarly, add in other short-term rewards, like a snack, nice cup of coffee, power nap, or other small treasure. Drop something from your to-do list and dont feel bad about it. Do you have a ton to do? Are you tired? Do you just not have the energy to get everything completed? Then instead of focusing on how to motivate yourself to do the impossible, take a hard look at your to-do list. Pick one or two things that are stressing you out and drop them without feeling guilty. If things are stressful and your resources are low, then its time to prioritize. What seemed important a month ago may no longer make the cut, so cross off what you can and focus on what you really need to focus on. You just might surprise yourself with how your energy levels replenish and your stress levels decrease.

Foster Care in the Criminal Justice System

Foster Care in the Criminal Justice System How Foster Care affects the criminal justice in the United States A detailed history of the creation of the social agency Historically, the destiny of dependent children has been put on adult’s contributions and goodwill where adults were expected to look after the dependent children. Throughout the history of the United States, the children welfare system has evolved according to shifting values and attitudes about what responsibilities governmental agencies should take in the defence and care of abandoned and abused children. In the US, it was English Poor Law, which led to the growth and eventual legislation of family foster care.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Foster Care in the Criminal Justice System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the year 1562, these regulations permitted the placements of needy children into practice service until they were old enough to be self-sufficient. When the children beca me old enough, they were permitted to move on with life and live on their own. This system was brought to the US and marked the foundation of placing children into willing families. Although this practice allowed cruelty and mistreatment, it was a step ahead from almshouses where children didn’t gain any skills and were exposed to unbearable environs and unsavoury people. At this time, the early government interventions on behalf of children needing care were characterized more by realistic concerns about meeting the physical needs of children rather than by concern about the negative consequences of abuse and abandonment of children’s development. John (1993) notes â€Å"in 1636, at the time the Jamestown Colony was found, aged seven years old, Benjamin Eaton became US’s first foster child.† As public awareness about child abuse and the damage it caused grew, the importance of child protection received greater attention by government officials. (Tarren Hazell 2006) notes â€Å"in 1853, Charles Loring Brace, then a minister and director of the New York Childrens Aid Society, formed the free foster home movement group with the main concern of the increasing number of homeless and hungry children in the streets of New York.† Brace saw the need and came up with a system to offer these children homes. Acknowledging, it was Braces caring and imaginative actions which marked the beginning of the foster care agency. (John 1993).Advertising Looking for essay on family law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gradually, the foster care system started to take course. Starting in the early 1900s, the federal Government and other social bodies became more concerned and engaged themselves in looking and offering homes to these needy children. Now, foster parents were required to have licences and have reports and records to ensure that the children received proper care of in a decent and dependable manner. In 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) was enacted and was meant to reduce the duration children were permitted to remain in foster care before they could be adopted. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 was passed to help promote youths who were becoming of age to attain self-sufficiency. The most recent legislation is the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, which extends other benefits and financing for foster children at the age bracket, 18-21 and for Indian children in racial regions. A presentation of the mission statement of the social agency Foster care is inspired to provide a place where children can heal, fostering families build up, and where peacefulness and private development are achieved. The intention of foster care agency is to evade unnecessary institutionalization of children and adults by offering caring, community-based, in-home placings to the many needy children. The mission of foster care under the child welfare system in the United States is to provide care to children. The system recognizes that foster care should be an inclusive teamwork effort among the care-givers, social workers, the placing agencies, the birth parents, the children and those contributing to the children’s welfare. Foster care is not only put in place to cater for the provision of safe alternative homes for neglected children but to provide permanent and well being for the children. The role of foster care is a surrogate parent to the children and infants. The social agency’s role of provision of permanent and long-term foster care to children and young people in need of a permanent family placement is a very vital issue that the social agency strives to fulfill. It is not only relevant for the social agencies but also for the judicial system. Foster care promotes family-based assistance to out-of-home children by: enabling the exchange of information among persons and organizations of different regions; enhancing foster care as a vital plan of family based care; organizing conferences and seminars; consultations; socializing; and assistance. It aims at providing safe, permanent and fostering families within the children’s own environment by sustaining bonds; thus reducing the negative impacts.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Foster Care in the Criminal Justice System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Financial reports/summaries of the operations of the social agency In 1995, each state got more than $2.7 billion in federal aid for about half of the approximated The Federal government offers significant financial assistance to fund foster care programs. The government’s contribution is seen to have grown from about $300 million in 1981 to nearly $10 billion in 2005. According to the General Accounting Office, in 1993 almost $1.2 billion Federal dollars were allocated to foster care maintenance, while a supplementary $1.2 billion in refunds were allocated to states for foster care-related administrative programs in 495,000 children in foster care. By 2001, federal assistance rose to $4.7 billion with the number of foster care children assisted by the federal increasing by about 26%. According to a study conducted by the Child Welfare League of America, â€Å"the annual welfare cost of one child living with his or her mother is $2,644, while the average cost for the childs care in residential group care is $36,500.† (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services 2004). Currently, the annual expenditures on foster care services are estimated at 15 billion dollar. A critical analysis of the effectiveness of the social agency The Fosters care agency has a lot of challenges that affect its effectiveness when caring out its mandate. The social agency plays a very crucial role as it has a character of the social rehabilitation agency. The social agenc y faces limited recourses despite the fact that there has been a growing demand for the services nationally. Therefore the agency cannot carry it some of it vital roles hence lack the positive results that the agency is supposed to deliver. The lack of resources has resulted in missing the targets set by the agency as its daily expenditure increases especially in the training programs for the foster parents and adolescent children and in maintaining its interaction with the criminal justice system. (Harden 2004) The agency has a very intensive program which is involved in the training of children who have different social problems. The involvement of children in juvenile delinquencies stems from exposure to abuse and an extremely distressing experience that causes severe emotional shock and may have long-lasting psychological effects often co-occurs with mood and anxiety problems among children and young people. Other causes may be depressing relationships between the children and t heir surroundings and social hostility. For girls it is much more complex due to the fact that they are present in male oriented institutions and programs that are not well crafted to their specific needs. Therefore there is need for services to be based and set up in consideration of gender. This highlighted by figures showing a steady increase in delinquencies among females as compared to males (Lawrence, et al 2006) ways in which the social agency could improve its effectiveness towards its social goals.Advertising Looking for essay on family law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The social agency in its endeavor to improve its effectiveness and realize its mission and goal of providing permanence in foster care to underprivileged children, should prepare reports on a monthly basis so as to assess progress and analyze what needs to be done. This reports should be discussed by all stakeholders so that solutions and policies being developed should be inclusive and be able to cater for all children under foster care whether males or females. The criminal justice board should carry out periodical monitoring workshops to ensure that the agencies are effective. Cooperation between the social agency and the criminal justice system is very vital for effective services to be realized. The social agency should adhere to performance analyst monitors put in place by the criminal justice system and analyses performance in relation to warrants, community penalty breaches and awarding of licenses. On the other hand, in case of breach of the rules and regulations by social agencies, the criminal justice system should effect penalties such as revocation of licenses. Prediction concerning the future of the social agency and its impact on the criminal justice system The Future of the social agency lies in it taking measures to correct the current challenges that it is facing in order to remain efficient and effective and more importantly, have a healthy and sustainable relationship with the criminal justice system. In order to do this, the agency should be well funded to run its programs effectively thus not experience budgetary constraints as it is have before. In addition the agency should recruit more Para-legal and legal staff to assist in the judicial and legal operations that hence making it easy to work with the criminal justice system by bringing corrective programs into its system at an early stage. Another issue affecting the agency is lack of enough placements hence more children are still being left out in hostile environments whereby they de velop into juveniles at a very young age and carry with them this trait into adulthood or into the foster care program should they get a placement. Past research has shown that former children in foster homes, at least 42 per cent of them ended in prisons once they got into adulthood while 15 percent of them got to prison during their teen hood. Therefore in order for the agency to be successful, apart from its economical and human resource factors, the agency should take into account the role that placement of children in homes has on them. Thus children who are placed in environmentally friendly homes grow to develop positive attributes while those who are in hostile environments develop negative attributes, a factor that plays a big role in them ending up in prison later on. Thus both the agency and the criminal justice system should device positive and educative training programs to train the children into being more positive and self conscience while getting rid of attributes t hey might have acquired during the foster program. Also there should be continuous supervision of children in the program to ensure that they are in placements that contribute to their welfare in the end. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services 2004). Hence if all the above factors are taken into consideration, the agency is bound to produce positive results while decreasing the number of children who end up in the criminal justice system. References Harden, B (2004). Safety and stability for foster children: a developmental perspective. The Future of children / Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Vol. 11, pp 34-89. John K. ( 1993). Adoption of Children with Special Needs, Brookings Institution: The Future of Children, Vol. 3, Adoption, pp. 62-76 Lawrence, C. Carlson, E Egeland, B (2006). The impact of foster care on development. Development and psychopathology, Vol 1, pp. 57–76. Tarren, M; Hazell, P (2006). Mental health of children in foster and kinship care in New South Wales, Australia. Journal of paediatrics and child health, Vol 3, pp. 89–97. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, (2004). Child Maltreatment, Vol 6, pp.25-96.

Dra Rod Music The paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dra Rod Music The paper - Assignment Example This especially concerns the most daring and capturing, to my thinking, musicals – those based on rock music, for this form of presentation elevates rock music to a rather sophisticated theatrical level and popularizes it. 2. Probably, the most interesting points in the history of musical are the way relevant social issues were reflected in productions and the gradual shift from mainly dancing and singing (as in early musicals with dominance of music numbers) to the greater role of dramatic component and plot. Here, the period of 1920-1940’s can be mentioned as the time of significant changes, for artistic activity of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others endowed musical with peculiar American flavor – jazz and ragtime influence, more elaborate librettos etc. However, the most impressive turning point for me was observed in the postwar years with Rodgers and Hammerstein II creating South Pacific (1949), as this production clearly marked transition to a more elaborate dramatic form in musicals with dramatic component placed in the limelight, and singing/dancing used extensively to support development of the plot and communication of relevant issues. Moreover, this musical seems rather d aring and expressive to me in terms of presentation of big social issues such as race and gender relations. 3. Creating a musical, I would concentrate on a topic related to sexism and feminism and express the idea that women in the contemporary society often talk about gender roles when it concerns equal rights. Yet, they don’t mention equal duties. Therefore, the musical be about a feminist who gets to another planet and faces reversed reality with bearded men wearing dresses and going to beauty salons. However, women there have to win bread, to carry heavy bags etc. Our woman will be forced to marry a man of Conchita Wurst type and – after experiencing all the difficulties - she will escape and change her mind. To attract

Cognitive Development and Cognitive Views of Learning Essay

Cognitive Development and Cognitive Views of Learning - Essay Example Children in the concrete operational stage of development accept the rules and seldom deliberately move outside them. According to Piaget's theory, children from age 7 to 11 move from preconventional to concrete operational where these children have experienced interaction with others in a school setting and have begun to care what others think about them. Children in the 7-11 age group have the most potential for establishing a positive moral behavioral base. Morality becomes an issue for this age group because this is a time when children move from how a situation will affect them personally to how their behavioral choices will affect someone else. However, throughout this stage, conflicts occur that create moral dilemmas and children in this age group are influenced by so many ideas about what is or is not moral that it is easy for them to make some wrong choices. It is important for a teacher to stress the fact that it is all right to make mistakes because that is how we learn. It is the positive or negative result of the choice made that will help them determine right or wrong in future dilemmas. In other words, they first learn the rules, then how the rules affect behavior, and finally, whether trying to follow the rules might create a moral dilemma while breaking the rule would seem to be the proper choice. Appropriate strategies to use to teach the selected topic One problem with trying to teach morality in the classroom is that different children have different concepts of the rules of behavior when it comes to moral issues. However, by creating different moral dilemmas and setting up discussion groups within a classroom, individual students can present a dilemma and its possible resolution, and other students can debate or accept the resolution. The result of this is that the class can establish a moral code of behavior that they can accept. Once that has been accomplished, a further situation could be presented through a children's book that discusses morality, such as The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1993) newly translated by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski from Perrault's original collection, or in a book such as The Children's Book of Virtues (1995) by William Bennett. Bennett offers what he considers conventional role models for young people while the fairy tales present characters with debatable morals that can gen erate discussion within a group. Over the years, well-known fairy tales have evolved into versions that are influenced by changing moral concerns within society. In keeping with today's moral breakdown, Sleeping Beauty's story in its original format doesn't end when the prince awakens her. In a passage from Marjorie Allen's discussion of the translation (1999) her life continues: She marries him in secret and has two children-a boy and a girl. But she and the prince do not live happily ever after as king and queen, at least not for quite some time, because the queen mother happens to be part ogre