Modern variations of the Panopticon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Modern variations of the Panopticon - Essay Example Bentham first introduced this theory. His idea is that a panopticon involves a situation where the observed internalizes the presence of an unseen observer. The observed then enforces those rules via a psychological self-policing process. The observer develops a hidden power over the observed persons both consciously and subconsciously. Therefore, they have the ability to gain control of the behavior of the observed. A good representation of Bentham’s idea of panopticon, as presented in the essay, is the panopticon prison. In this disciplinary facility, prisoners are always within the view of the observer who hides in the tower, which controls their behavior. The panopticon idea is both ancient and modern, since it can be applied in modern lifestyles and situations, like internet browsing. The essay also describes the idea of power as shown in the control of internet browsing. The general ideas presented all show that the panopticon idea is applicable in modern life. The idea of the panopticon entirely depends on the psychology of the persons being observed. It is just another proof of the wonders of mind power. It can achieve more than any other known means. This is because it does not provide temporary solutions and measures. It corrects the behavior of the individual, right from his/her attitude. It shows that the knowledge and acknowledgement of a higher authority can be used to achieve more than it has done in the past. This is because the idea has been applied, with desirable results. Therefore, it is easy to control the behavior of people, if there is a higher authority that can enforce rules. This has high relevance in the management of behaviors on the internet. The heart of the panopticon is the internalization of a power mechanism on the part of the observed, in a system designed in such a way that the observed knows that he is perennially under watch, and where the observer is forever hidden from view

Life Transitions Counseling Essay Example for Free

Life Transitions Counseling Essay A detailed and very interesting research about the problems of classifying, analyzing and coping with life transitions in our life, was written by Lawrence Brammer, Ph.D., who is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. This work was published by the Educational Resource Information Center.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his research L. Brammer introduces the concept of life transitions and presents the most common types of such transitions. After that he addresses to three theoretical models of life transitions, which are supported by tips on counseling them. And in the end of the article the author presents some attitudes and skills necessary for successful coping with changes and life transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author defines transition as a sudden and fundamental life change, which brings certain disconnection with the past. He classifies the transitions as positive and negative (painful and tragic) in respect to human reaction, as voluntary and involuntary by human factor of the cause, and as on-time and off-time transitions by expectations. Also, he defines developmental, social and political changes among the transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to this research, there are three ways of human perception of life transitions. These approaches are based on the developments of other specialists in this field. The first approach was suggested by Bridges (1980), who offered using metaphors from classic literature when describing life transitions.   Counseling approach in such case can be focused on encouraging people to look for some meaningful metaphors when managing with their life transitions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second concept is called Social Interaction Model, which was created by Schlossberg (1984). This specialist offers to consider social and personal characteristics of an individual when coping with life transitions, like age, maturity, sensibility to stresses, etc. According to this model, the counseling approach will concentrate on analyzing the impact of transition on the person and looking for the inner and outer resources, which would help the person to cope with the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The third model is called Predictable Overlapping Stages, which was created by the author himself, using the works of Kubler-Ross, Parkes and Hopson. This model presents the development of human perception of hard life transitions, like sudden death of a close person, etc. The author states that there are some stages, which any person experiences when coping with a hard life transition. Firstly, there are initial feelings of confusion, discomfort and shock, followed by the stages of denial and fantasy, then very long process of mood stabilization comes, which is accompanied with depressions, mood disorders, and then one or another level or recovery comes. Counseling in this case is also focused on determination, on which stage the person is now.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the end of the research there are some concepts about coping attitude and skills, which are mostly based on the developments in psychological literature. The author states that coping with life transitions is self-initiated problem solving, which requires development of proper and satisfactory coping resource. Also, the author offers some directions, which can be effective for creating the concept of recovery when coping with life transitions. Those are: creating support networks, cognitive reframing, analyzing personal stress responses, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This research is very constructive and useful; it reveals some interesting theoretical information about view on life transitions and the ways of coping with them. The author suggests studying the problem more thoroughly, and in the conclusion he directs the readers into the most important field of studying life transitions: learning more about particular human personalities, about ourselves and our surrounding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maybe the only disadvantage of this research is the absence of more practical information on coping with life transitions. Other numerous researches introduce mental (acknowledging the problem, looking for some positive sides, fighting with anxiety and depressions, etc.) and physical (doing exercises, interacting with other people, paying attention on nutrition, etc) tips, which can be very helpful in our daily activity when managing with transitions. Besides, the majority of life transitions is connected with stresses, so coping with life transitions frequently becomes coping with stress. It is also important point, which had to receive more attention from the author of this research. But in any way, the work of Laurence Brammer is very useful, especially for students and specialists, who are interested in studying the perception of life transitions and stresses by human psychology. Bibliography:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brammer, L. M. (2001). Coping with Life Transitions. Educational Resourse Information Center. ERIC Digest. ED350527. Retrieved December 1, 2005, from http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=399.

Abolishing The Criminal Juvenile Justice System Criminology Essay

Abolishing The Criminal Juvenile Justice System Criminology Essay Throughout the course of focusing on juvenile issues that require forethought and afterthought the idea of Should the justice system be abolished? Has been of particular interest to me, because of the apparent disparity that exists in some cases where juveniles are denied due process for a criminal act or thrust into a complex system that does not provide much in the sense of reform. My question becomes investigative in nature to delve into an answer: Why do juveniles seemingly enter an adversarial system and not one that is rehabilitative and in some cases just? The first issue to examine is the get tough approach and its effectiveness as a deterrent to juvenile crimes. As a get tough approach on juvenile crime takes place, the demands for stronger crime policies emerge; elected officials throughout the United States are gradually dismantling the juvenile justice system and replacing it with a deceptive criminal system, a system that emphasizes mandatory sentences and formal advers arial procedures. Much of the juvenile court original case load has been reassigned to the criminal court. The question takes hold: Is it feasibly to have a separate juvenile justice system and if it is not what can replace it? It is the job of the policy makers to introspectively confront these questions, and more importantly find progressive answers. It is certain that new policies need to implemented that capture the essence of the problem and seeks to reform it. Perhaps, these new policies should focus on more than abolishing the juvenile courts delinquency jurisdiction and sending all young offenders to commonplace criminal courts (Butts, 2000, p. 1). It is equally important explore the reasons why the abolishing the juvenile court system is viewed as a viable option by some. Arguments can be made that history has shown the ineffectiveness of such as system currently today. Feld posits that judicial decisions, legislative amendments, and administrative change have changed the j uvenile court from a nominally rehabilitative social welfare agency into a scaled-down second class criminal court for young people (Wiesheit Culbertson, 2000, p. 277). Over the past century, the juvenile court struggled to provide treatment for juvenile offenders while guaranteeing them constitutional due process. But the system has been so overwhelmed by the increase in violent juvenile crime and family breakdown that some judges and politicians have suggested abolishing the juvenile system, and even those experts who want to retain an independent juvenile court have called for the restructuring and other advocates want to reduce jurisdiction over juveniles charged with serious crimes and liberalize the prosecutors ability to try them in adult courts (Siegel Welsh, 2009, p. 446). A compelling argument can be made for abolishing the juvenile justice system, or more specific abolishing delinquency, the idea that juvenile offenders are not fully responsible for their actions and s hould be tried in a separate court system. However, there are two important distinctions to be made abolishing delinquency is not the same thing as dismantling the entire juvenile court. Even if lawmakers ended the juvenile courts jurisdiction over criminal law violations, the juvenile court could continue to handle other types of cases such as abused and neglected children, truants, curfew violations etc. In fact, juvenile offenders could continue to be handled by the same judges in the same courtrooms that are currently handling them, but the courts would operate as youth divisions of criminal court using criminal procedures under the criminal code. Neither would abolishing delinquency mandate that all young offenders be sent to adult correctional programs or adult probation agencies. Many states already operate separate correctional facilities for young adults. The decision to handle all young offenders in the criminal court would not prevent correctional specialization. States would still have the discretion to separate offenders by age when incarcerating or otherwise supervising convicted offenders and the federal government would still be free to require such separation as a condition of financial support for state corrections agencies. The debate will still exist whether abolishing the juvenile justice system refers only to the courts responsibility for delinquency cases. Policy makers must then decide what type of court should have legal jurisdiction over juvenile delinquents. The debate centers on whether to continue defining law violations by young people as delinquent acts, or to classify them simply as crimes and refer them to criminal court (Butts, 2000, p. 1). HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM Juvenile courts today bear only a passing similarity to the original concept of juvenile justice formulated centuries ago. State lawmakers built the first juvenile courts around an informal, quasi-civil process. Juvenile court judges had broad discretion with which they could intervene quickly and decisively, even in cases involving hard-to-prove charges. Juvenile offenders received minimal procedural protections in juvenile court, but in return they were promised a court that would focus on their best interests. The mission of the juvenile court was to help young law violators to get back on the right track, not simply punish their illegal behavior (Butts, 2000, p. 2). The Supreme Courts decision in In re Gault (1967) began changing the juvenile court into a very different institution than the Progressives contemplated. Progressive reformers envisioned an informal court whose dispositions reflected the best interest of the child. The Supreme Court engrafted formal procedures at tria l onto juvenile courts individualized treatment sentencing schema. Although the Courts decision was not intended to change the juvenile courts therapeutic mission, legislative, judicial, and administrative responses to Gault have modified the courts jurisdiction, purpose and procedures (Feld 1984, 1988b). The substantive and procedural convergence between juvenile and criminal courts eliminates most of the conceptual and operational differences between social control strategies for youths and adults (Wiesheit Culbertson, 2000, p. 277). It is important to define the significance of the Supreme Courts Gault (1967) decision at it was two crucial gaps between juvenile justice rhetoric and reality: the theory versus practice of rehabilitation, and the differences between procedural safeguards afforded adults and those available to juveniles (Felds 1990b). The Court stressed that juveniles charged with crimes who faced institutional confinement required elementary procedural safeguards w hich included notice of charge, a hearing, assistance of counsel, an opportunity to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and a privilege against self incrimination. In other cases such as In re Winship (1970), the court determined that the risk of erroneous convictions required delinquency to be proven by the criminal standard beyond a reasonable doubt rather than by a lower civil standard of proof. In Breed v. Jones (1975), the Court posited a functional equivalence between criminal trials and delinquency proceedings and applied the ban on double jeopardy to delinquency convictions. In McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1970), however, the Court denied juveniles the constitutional right to jury trials and halted the extension of full procedural parity with adult criminal prosecutions. Although Gault and Winship recognized the need for procedural safeguards against governmental oppression, McKeiver denied the need for such protections, invoked the mythology of benevolent juvenile court judg es, and justified the procedural differences of juvenile courts by their treatment rationale (McKeiver 1970, pp. 550-51; Feld 1988b). Gault (1967), Winship (1970), and McKeiver (1970) precipitated a procedural and substantive revolution in juvenile justice that unintentionally but inevitably transformed its Progressive conception. By emphasize placed on criminal procedural regularity in determining delinquency and formalizing the connection between crime and sentence, the Court made explicit a relationship previously implicit and unacknowledged. Legislative and judicial responses to those decisions decriminalized status offenders, waiving serious offenders, punitively sentencing delinquents, and formalizing procedures further the convergence between criminal and juvenile courts (Wiesheit Culbertson, 2000, p. 280). Although these reforms may have been enacted for good reason, they raise serious questions about the continuing need for a separate, juvenile court system. As lawmakers continue to increase the similarity of juvenile and criminal court sanctions, it becomes harder to rationalize the separation of the process that imposes them (Butts, 2000, p. 3). The juvenile justice system has strayed too far from its original mission, according to Feld. Policy makers should cancel the nations juvenile justice experiment. Todays juvenile court retains much of the terminology of juvenile law, but it functions as a pseudo criminal court. Worse, it fails to provide complete due process protections for accused youth. Juvenile courts are still not required to provide bail, jury trials, or the right to a speedy trial for youthful offenders. Feld has recommended that all law violations be handled in a criminal court, although he hopes the system will continue acknowledge the minimized culpability of the very young by imposing sentences with a youthful discount meaning a 17-year-old defendant would get 75 percent of the sentence due an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old would get 50 percent, etc. Even if Felds proposed youth discount is ultimately rejected by policy makers, the insights and observations on which he has based these proposals cannot be ignore d. Lawmakers will soon have to ask themselves the following question: Is it possible to terminate the juvenile justice system? The juvenile justice system conjures some strong opinions, and not all of them can be categorized as either liberal or conservative. It would also be very wrong to assume that all the critics of the juvenile courts are uncaring, law and order types who feel little compassion for the poor, disproportionately minority youth who compromise the largest percentage of the juvenile courts clients. The critics Dr. Felds are more often motivated by a concern for youth. It is their perspective, the juvenile court has never lived up to its rehabilitative promise and it never will, and more importantly, the juvenile courts lower standards of due process are no longer tolerable given its modern emphasize on just desserts and retribution. Courts were meant to handle law violations, the abolitionists say and not social welfare problems (Butts, 2000, p. 2). Policy makers ha ve found it difficult to find middle ground in this engaging controversy, but unfortunately their compromise was to slowly criminalize the juvenile court, especially in light of the Supreme Courts ruling in Gault (1967) in which law makes across the country have encouraged juvenile courts to embrace the goals and operational style of the criminal courts. Juvenile courts currently pursue many of the objectives once unique to criminal courts, including incapacitation and retribution. Both juvenile courts and criminal courts rely on plea bargaining for case outcomes. Both are forced by growing caseloads to adopt assembly-line tactics and they often have difficulty providing individualized dispositions. It is hard to draw a distinction between juvenile courts and adult courts because of the atmosphere. Because of juvenile discretion being restricted, its once sweeping authority becomes diluted, making the court more bureaucratic and inflexible. Decades of reform increased the severity o f the juvenile court process, but they also curtailed the courts ability to provide individualized and comprehensive interventions for youth offenders. Throughout most of the juvenile courts 100 year history, it is evident that we do not need a separate juvenile court system. Juvenile courts allowed society to intervene early in the lives of troubled youth and they prevented a variety of abhorrence that occurred when young defendants were incarcerated with adult offenders. Defending the juvenile court was instinctive among advocates, social workers, family therapists, clergy, educators, defense attorneys, judges and even many prosecutors. Juvenile justice as currently practiced imposes two significant cost on American youth: The first is the juvenile court itself no longer delivers its promise rehabilitation and minimal stigmatism in exchange for due process; the second is the continuing existence of the juvenile justice system allows courts, corrections, and other youth service ag encies to ignore the inherent youthfulness of many offenders now defined as adults. The growing use of criminal court transfer or waiver has been very damaging to the institutional integrity of the juvenile court. Public safety proponents are unduly focused on increasing the transfer, despite research casting doubt on its effectiveness (Butts, 2000, p. 3). Todays juvenile system is vulnerable to abolition because it attracts intense criticism from the public. Some of this criticism stems from ignorance of juvenile law and its purpose, but not all of it comes from lack of information. Many people simply no longer accept the concept of delinquency, or diminished legal responsibility due to age in other words to them, a juvenile drug dealer is still a drug dealer (Butts, 2000, p. 4). Equating seriousness with the length of confinement conflicts with the traditional concept of juvenile justice, but support for traditional justice is wearing thin. Federal and state law makers have enacte d sweeping changes in the nations juvenile justice systems and the pace of change continued even when juvenile violence began to plummet in the mid-1990s. Nearly all states have passed laws to send far more juveniles to criminal court and some jurisdictions have introduced formal sentencing guidelines that limit the discretion of juvenile court judges. Together, these efforts have begun to unravel the juvenile courts reason for being. No issue in the juvenile justice arena captivates the public or policy makers like criminal court transfers. Many policy makers believe that serious juvenile offenders should be tried in criminal court in order to achieve more certain and more severe punishment. In about half of all transfers, the offenders receive sentences comparable to what they might have received in juvenile court. About one-fifth actually receive more lenient treatment in criminal court. Some may be convicted of lesser offenses or the charges against them be dismissed due to the greater evidentiary scrutiny in criminal court. The bottom line is that criminal court transfer does not ensure incarceration, and it does not always increase sentence lengths even in cases that result in incarceration. Yet, few policies are as popular with the public or with elected officials. During the 1980s and 1990s, lawmakers enacted new transfer laws on an almost annual basis. Moreover, there was an increase in laws that moved entire classes of young offenders into criminal court without the involvement of juvenile court judges. Judicial authority in transfer decisions was diminished while the role of prosecutors and legislatures increased. Non-judicial mechanisms now account for the vast majority of juvenile transfers. Many states enacted policies that made judicial waiver presumptive and it shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense. Presumptive waiver provisions typically require a defense attorney to show proof that a youth is amenable to juvenile cou rt handling or otherwise the juvenile is transferred to criminal court. Between 1992 and 1997, according to a series of reports prepared for the Office of Juvenile Justice, eleven states passed presumptive waiver provisions. Fourteen states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming) and the District of Columbia enacted presumptive waiver laws by the end of the 1990s (Butts, 2000, p. 4). Another increasingly popular strategy for moving juveniles into the criminal courts is mandatory waiver. While presumptive waiver allows juveniles to rebut the presumption of nonamenability, mandatory waiver provides no such escape. If a juvenile meets the criteria for mandatory waiver, a juvenile court judge is left with no choice but to transfer jurisdiction. Other mechanisms have contributed even more to the deterioration of the juvenile justice system. One mechanism that has become widespread dur ing the 1980s and 1990 was statutory exclusion, known in some states as automatic transfer. Statutory exclusion laws mandate that some young offenders are transferred automatically to criminal court as soon as they are charged with certain offenses and judicial consent is unnecessary. Direct file, also known as concurrent jurisdiction or prosecutor discretion, is another increasingly prominent form of criminal court transfer. Direct file laws give prosecutors the discretion to prosecute juveniles either in juvenile or adult court. Louisiana gives prosecutors discretion to file criminal charges against any youth age 16 and older charged with a second drug felony, a second aggravated burglary, or virtually any of the Violent Crime Index offenses. The number of juveniles transferred by prosecutors has grown sharply. Florida prosecutors alone send more than 7,000 cases to criminal courts each year (Butts, 2000, p. 5). State sentencing trends indicate that punishment and accountability, in addition to rehabilitation, have become equally important in juvenile justice policy. As a result, many states have created blended sentencing structures for cases involving serious offenders (Siegel Welsh, 2009, p. 517). Blended sentencing policies were devised primarily to provide longer terms of incarceration for juveniles, but they also helped blur the distinction between juvenile justice and adult justice. Increasingly the variety of sentencing options may reduce the resistance of courts to handle very young offenders in the adult system since juveniles may not be subject to draw upon the traditionally resources available in the juvenile justice system without having to sacrifice the lengthy periods of incarceration once available only in the criminal court system (Butts, 2000, p. 5). Sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum policies for juveniles also began to proliferate during the 1980s and 1990s. As of 1997, 17 states and the District of Columbia had enacted some typ e of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for at least some juvenile offenders. Some jurisdictions applied sentencing guidelines to juveniles by first requiring that they be tried in criminal court, but others such as Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming enacted formal sentencing guidelines that applied to juvenile delinquency cases handled by juvenile court judges. The use of structured sentencing fundamentally contradicts the basic premise of juvenile justice by making sentence length proportional to the severity of an offense rather than basing court outcomes on the characteristics and life problems of offenders. As the popularity of these policies increases, it becomes very difficult to justify the continuation of a juvenile justice system that fails to provide complete due process protections for the youth it handles. Along with the rights of juveniles at adjudication and disposition, the issue of confidentiality in juvenile proceedings has also received attention in recent years. The debate on confidentiality in the juvenile court deals with two areas: (1) open versus closed hearings, and (2) privacy of juvenile records. Confidentiality has become moot in some respects, as many legislatures have broadened access to juvenile records (Siegel Welsh, 2009, p. 519). As juvenile justice policy became more contentious during the 1980s and 1990s, support for confidentiality protections began to erode. Practical issues such as jurisdiction information sharing and greater media interest in juvenile court proceedings began to win out over confidentiality. Finally, some states have even passed laws enabling juvenile court records to affect criminal court sentences. Enhancing criminal court sentences with juvenile court adjudications abrogates the agreement that allowed the juvenile court to exist in the first place. Adjudication in juvenile court begins to involve potentially serious jeopardy for youth. As of 1997, according to research by Joseph Sanborn, all 50 states an d the District of Columbia had enacted statutes or court rules allowing this practice or they had case law that sanctioned it. An example of this is Illinois and Indiana allow juvenile offense histories to serve as sufficient grounds for increasing sentence length or imposing consecutive sentences. Three states California, Louisiana, and Texas allow juvenile adjudications to serve as the first and second strikes against an adult offender. Thus an offender with two prior juvenile court adjudications could face life in prison for a first appearance in criminal court (Butts, 2000, p. 6). Evaluations of juvenile treatment programs provide scant support for their effectiveness (Whitehead and Lab 1989; Lab and Whitehead 1988). Empirical evaluations question both the efficacy of treatment programs and the scientific underpinnings of those who administer the enterprise. Although the general conclusion that nothing works in juvenile corrections has been persuasively refuted (Melton 1989), it has been strenuously resisted by those who contend that some types of programs may have positive effects on selected clients under certain conditions (Palmer) (Wiesheit Culbertson, 2000, p. 284). PROPOSED CHANGES FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE Advocates of youth may need to reconsider their position on the juvenile court, and instead of concerning themselves only with youth who still happen to be legal juveniles; they may want to shift their focus and work to ensure fair and timely justice for all youth even those processed in the juvenile court system. This could be accomplished from either side of the juvenile-criminal border, by making youth oriented improvements from within the criminal justice system, or by helping juvenile justice professionals to get involved in programs for young adult offenders. It may be even more effective if, however if the border no longer existed. Criminal courts are not as evil and juvenile courts are not as virtuous as some might suggest. The justice system as a whole might benefit if law makers, judges, and practitioners were able to stop fighting over the politically hobbled delinquency jurisdiction of the juvenile court. If delinquency laws were abolished and all offenders young and old were handled in an integrated criminal court system, youth advocates could begin to focus on ensuring the quality of the process used for all youth (Butts, 2000, p. 7). The question then becomes how do we get from here to there, and how can a new justice system that protects public safety and the rights of youth while ensuring that youthful offenders get every chance they deserve to mend their ways and rejoin society if possible? One way to begin this process is to take advantage of the growing diversity in specialized courts. It is assumed by the public at large that there are two types of courts and they are criminal or juvenile, consequently though any effort to increase the symbolic strength of juvenile crime policy necessarily favors making greater use of criminal courts. American courts however are very diverse as it is evidenced by innovative specialized courts such as drug courts, gun courts, and community-based courts which bring new ideas and a wider range of choices to the criminal justice system. Some of these new courts actually resemble the traditional juvenile court in their philosophy of human behavior, their approach to processing cases, and their efforts to monitor offender compliance with court orders by close judicial supervision (Butts, 2000, p. 8). For the past two decades, state and federal officials have been slowly dismantling the juvenile justice system without much thought as to what will replace it. The emergence of innovative specialized courts within the adult system presents an unprecedented opportunity to create a new youth justice system. Ideally, this new system would retain the best features of the juvenile court while gradually incorporating new ideas and procedures by specialized courts now spreading across the country. Eventually, each state could implement a wide assortment of court models and establish individualized intake procedures for routing young offenders to the most appropriate forum. Law makers may be able to think about abolishing the juvenile courts delinquency jurisdiction and improve the coherence of criminal justice policy for all youth, but most importantly, the juvenile court would not be an easy target for politicians who seek symbolic victories over crime (Butts, 2000, p. 8). SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION In conclusion, the central issue is not whether young offenders are called delinquents; the real issue is what happens to them when they are arrested and appear in court. Questions that should be asked are: What process is used to determine their culpability? Who chooses the most appropriate response for each case? How quickly does the process occur, and does it ensure the safety of the public while guarding the rights of offenders? Is the process designed to maximize each persons changes of rejoining the law abiding community? The answers to these questions will only be possible when every community has an effective, understandable intake process, a fair and efficient system of fact finding and adjudication, and a diverse menu of services and sanctions that are suitable for a wide range of offenders. Maintaining the juvenile court and its separate delinquency jurisdiction may have once guaranteed this for young people, but the benefits are far less certain today. Because of the rece nt decreases in juvenile violence it should offer the nations policy makers an opportunity to introspectively reflect on how they have changed the juvenile court and what its future should be. It is also a good time to ponder and ask whether a separate system of juvenile justice is fact sustainable, either legally or politically, and if not, what can state and local officials do to design a new system to meet the needs of youth and their communities during the next century (Butts, 2000, p. 8).

The Unjustified War in Iraq Essay -- Politics Political Essays

The Unjustified War in Iraq History has many times been tainted with the blood of war. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed, and families have been torn apart. Once again, our nation is about to witness a terror that no one can really comprehend. We are on the threshold of an unjustifiable war. The United States should refrain from war with Iraq because of the lack of concrete evidence in regards to weapons of mass destruction. Instead, they should be working towards peace. Following September 11, Bush claimed Iraq to be connected with Al Qaeda in Prague or Kurdistan (Alter 29). This was played up even though the CIA and FBI determined that "evidence is fragmentary and inconclusive and that the administration is exaggerating information to make a political case for war." (Heuvel) Later, the Bush Administration stated that Iraq possessed terrible weapons of mass destruction. Secretary of State Colin Powell was sent to the United Nations, to make the Bush administration's case for preemptive war against Iraq. His case presented several accusations but very little new information or proof that weapons of mass destruction are actually present in Iraq. "Nearly all of his evidence was largely circumstantial or speculative"(Heuvel). Not only will this war take the lives of a nation where over 50% of the population is children under the age of 15, but it will also endanger our own troops because of inexcusable negligence by our government. The pentagon was finally forced to admit, last October, that 250,000 faulty battle-dress over garments (BDO) suits have been lost among 800,000 usable BDO suits, and they are unable to determine which are the damaged suits. With the type of chemical warfare our soldie... ...st option but as a distant final option. "Let us declare peace a civil right in a democracy, and a human right in this world." (Kucinich) Works Cited Alter, Jonathan. " 'Trust Me' Isn't Good Enough." Newsweek 3 Feb. 2003: 29. Byrd, Robert. Senate Floor Speech. U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 12 Feb. 2003. Dickey, Christopher. "Perils of Victory." Newsweek 3 Feb. 2003: 30-32. Heuvel, Katrina Vanden. "Powell Fails to Make Case." The Nation. 6 Feb. 2003. 10 Feb. 2003 <http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml> Kucinich, Dennis. Peace as a Civil Right. Martin Luther King Day Celebration. Ministerial Alliance. Lakewood Presbyterian Church, Lakewood, OH. 19 Jan. 2003. Wolfe, Richard and Hirsh, Michael. "War and Consequences." Newsweek 3 Feb. 2003: 22-28. Zakaria, Fareed. "Looking on the Bright Side." Newsweek 3 Feb. 2003: 33

Communicating Using Social Media Essay

Technology has developed tremendously the past decade, more so than it has in the past, and a variety of businesses are being challenged in this area. People from all over the world are constantly innovating new ideas, brainstorming on how to interact more efficiently, than and as fast as they or it possibly can. In order to do this, individuals must communicate with one another, using resources and updated tools to drive out the competition. Technology has changed business in many ways, but its affect on communication is arguably the most significant (Morley, 2013). Also, the skill to speak plainly and supportive is one of the talents that businesses look for in employees. The use of technology can assist students, companies, and computer gurus with communicating, which will lessen the time it takes. The use of social media in the workplace has elevated concerns about loss of time and productivity. However, our study reveals that at the workplace, social media is being increasingly used by professionals for multitasking and for better time management. (Revathy, 2012) Technology can also have penalties that diminish relationships without the tool as a mediator. There are positive, negative, and gray areas when discussing social networking, social media, and how it has affected businesses or the populace in general. Technology and communication are what make up social networking, which has become a â€Å"norm† for Generation X & Y. The findings came just a few months after the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on average 7 1/2 hours a day using some sort of electronic device, from smart phones to MP3 players to computers — a number that startled many adults, even those who keep their Blackberry’s within arm’s reach during most waking hours..(Stout, 2010) These generations are leading our country globally, internationally, and locally. Because it has been more recent that Smartphone’s and Apple products have flooded the market, there have not been a lot of comprehensive studies done on the impact it is having and I will alleviate on my findings. Social networking can lessen costs, make communication better, and is beginning to assist greatly with marketing departments all over the world. Digital technologies swiftly transform our communication style, the way we purchase and industry interactions in several departments. Compared to older technologies, new technologies have been adopted and implemented more quickly by individuals and businesses. Organizations that use social media are able to reach their consumers promptly, effortlessly, and receive quick responses. The ability to have questions answered immediately allows customer support staff to work faster without irritating the customer. The downside is that employees are less likely to engage in social activities away from their computers (Webster, 2010). While information and communication technologies influence brand loyalty and brand awareness, there is a secure relationship between demanding market-oriented configurations and improving customer loyalty, recognition, and satisfaction. When the influence of social media-focused information & communication technologies on the costs was determined, it was revealed that these technologies reduce administrative costs, supplier/partner costs, internal communication costs, and customer management costs, which in turn positively influences the business performance (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). It is a lot cheaper to do business in a social media environment when regarding promotions, expenses, and revenue made. Marketing, sales, and promotional activities done in social media environments provide businesses an opportunity to act independently of their physical environments (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). This article also spoke of employees having better relationships with one another, being able to conne ct online has helped their line of communication drastically; so their attitudes and work environment has improved as well. It was enlightening to see that these technologies definitely affect brand recognition of the corporation and customer devotion to services and products. Large and small companies seek to form a connection between their customers, products or services; particularly through advertisement and other creative activities. When sudden transfer of information, instant feedback, and broad areas of influence are considered especially in social media environments, businesses execute marketing-focused activities in these environments (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). The latest technologies guide the way; facilitate a new perspective, and guarantee positive and negatives for the nations’ wealth and businesses’. This brings to mind the surfacing of new applications for many telecommunications, companies, and individuals. Social media is exceptionally significant in viral marketing and in the encouragement of new products. Consciousness and successful use of social media has produced ample solutions in these areas and has generated a novel line of work for the information technology industry. As information travels faster and faster and more reliably, barriers of distance disappear, and businesses are realizing how easy it is to outsource jobs overseas (Mcgrath, 2013). There are additional positions being implemented daily into social networking and the people that are already in place in this segment are constantly growing. Someone is responsible for collecting the responses made by consumers and interpreting them so that they can pr omote â€Å"liked† items. By using Face Book and Twitter, generally you can determine whether a product is going places or not. Comments, news, or shares about products or companies in social networks, blogs, and news sites so on are constantly monitored through specially developed software to collect information and to provide instant response. In this way, businesses have a chance to store and manage the unstructured information (Kietzman, 2011). Traditionally, consumers used the Internet to simply expend content: they read it, they watched it, and they used it to buy products and services. Increasingly, however, consumers are utilizing platforms—such as content sharing sites, blogs, social networking, and wikis—to create, modify, share, and discuss Internet content. This represents the social media phenomenon, which can now significantly impact a firm’s reputation, sales, and even survival. Yet, many executives eschew or ignore this form of media because they don’t understand what it is, the various forms it can take, and how to engage with it and learn (Keitzmann, 2011). As all these positive aspects of social media can and is changing the way we think and buy. The major concern is that is moving so fast that the leaders making huge decisions that can affect our daily lives are reluctant in catching up with the new ways. This hesitance will cause a negative influence on communication in business and technology. Hopefully, eventually these two extremes will coincide and all generations can find a way to join together in moving forward at the same pace. Until then, future leaders of America will have to step up and find innovative ways to implement training in these areas. I believe that the more important thing to remember through all of the â€Å"change† is that we are doing it together and to be open minded to the idea that there may be a more efficient way to do something. Whether it is gain feedback or to simply get a shift covered, technology is changing fast and if he/she does not get on the fast train with the rest of the world, then companies may suffer extraneously. The negative sides to social media and technology in business communications consists of the obvious: misunderstood messages, misinterpreted texts, email, IM, etc., isolation, no actual social life, too public, and simply too difficult to comprehend. It’s worth noting, however, that today only 5 percent of communications occur on social networks. Moreover, almost all digital human interactions can ultimately become â€Å"social,† and jobs involving physical labor and the processing of transactions are giving way, across the globe, to work requiring complex interactions with other people, independent judgment, and the analysis of information. As a result, we believe social technologies are destined to play a much larger role not only in individual interactions but also in how companies are organized and managed. While the adoption of social technologies is growing rapidly, a huge untapped potential for them to create value remains (Bughin, Michael, James, 2012). That statistic was from last year and it was only five percent that companies actually engage in social media. I am positive the numbers have grown significantly, but I am also sure that there is a large percentage that does not want anything to do with this world. Some employers may feel social is inappropriate for the office because its name implies socializing rather than working (Poluck, 2012). There are many different ways that people can misunderstand emails or texts, especially when you cannot see the person. There are a lot of emoticons and symbols used to replace emotions, but without being able to look into someone’s eyes or see their body language, it is almost impossible to tell if they meant what they said the way that you think you should have interpreted it. People could waste valuable time trying to encrypt these messages when they could have picked up the phone. Having a pleasurable conversation with our family, friends or significant others, we lock our eyes to our computer and mobile device screens instead of listening and giving feedback. Technology has its advantages, but we should take a footstep back and grasp what it is doing to our skills, talents, and relationships. The question on researchers’ minds is whether all that texting, instant messaging and online social networking allows children to become more connected and supportive of their friends — or whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time (Stout, 2010). Our children will be educated in a completely different era than we were, than our parents, and their parents which can be intimidating when you look carefully at how fast all of this happening. Also, another disadvantage that Morley says, â€Å"Instant communication can make it harder for workers to deal with one task at a time when their work is constantly being interrupted by comments and questions that relate to other projects or even personal issues. In fact, some employees must make an effort to turn off communication devices while they work to meet deadlines (Morley). Maybe companies are strategically planning ways to welcome new technologies or implementing training programs so that employees are aware of how to communicate effectively online. In my experience, I have not been in an organization that implemented a training program for communication, let alone a training of how to â€Å"tweet† professionally. If a company already has policies on misconduct, then mostly they could enforce the same rules when applying to social networking in the workplace. I did work for one hotel that took one of its sales persons and gave her the title of coordinator over social engagement. As I was leaving last summer, she was handling all trip advisor comments and applied them to the employees when it was good or bad. If there were good comments on particular employees, she would recognize and reward, which did motivate them. Through my research, I found limitless articles, journals, CDs, books, etc. that offered training on communication individually, group settings, and in the workplace. If I were to choose, I would definitely choose one that focuses on communicating respectively, but that also starts with the basics so that all ages and cultures can catch up to speed. Start with different departments and treat it as any training session, make it fun and interactive. If people are not given the knowledge, we cannot expect them to act any differently. People are representing their companies when they are working and when they are not. If those individuals are â€Å"connected† to people at work and you put your entire personal life online, then you can expect co-workers at your job to know the details of your weekend. Human resource department can also use these open networking sites to look up your page and see if you will be a good candidate or not. Whether it is positive or negative, the use of social media with technology in business communications is happening, regardless who likes it or who is not â€Å"ready† for it. References Bughin, J., Chui, M., & manyika, J. (2012). Capturing business value with social technologies. McKinsey Quarterly (4), 72-80. Geà §ti, F., & Dastan, I. (2013). The impact of social media-focused information & technologies on business performance via mediating mechanisms: An exploratory study on communication and advertising agencies in Turkey. International Journal of Business and Management, 8(7), 106-115. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1357565373?accountid=32521 Jan H. Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy, Bruno S. Silvestre, Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media, Business Horizons, Volume 54, Issue 3, May–June 2011, Pages 241-251, ISSN 0007-6813, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311000061) McGrath, Jane. (2008). How has technology changed the way we conduct business? HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/technology-changed-business.htm Morley, Amanda. (n.d). Effects on Technology in Business Communications. Chron. Demand Media. Retrieved June 16, 2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-technology-business-communications-23045.html Pollack, J. (2009, May 23). ‘Something’s got to change’; social media the internet’s moving too fast for companies to not keep up with it – old traditions, such as memos, don’t work in the age of mass and immediate communication, tech executive says. Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/423358594?accountid=32521 Revathy, L. N. (2012, Mar 26). Business communication shifting to social media. Businessline. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1321923181?accountid=32521 Stout, Hillary. (2010, April 10). Antisocial Networking? New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Webster, Shannon. (n.d.). What are the positive and negative effects of using technology to communicate? Chron. Demand Media. Retrieved June 16, 2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/positive-negative-effects-using-technology-communicate-21241.html

Customer service phrases that will help in any tough situation

Customer service phrases that will help in any tough situation Customer service is  important in any company. They are the front-runners  for customer interaction and satisfaction. With that being said, customers judge a company based on their interaction experience either through phone, email, or face to face.   Depending  on how well it goes customers  can decide  whether or not they want to continue business with these companies. With these tips on how to handle customers in tough situations, you are bound to help them feel valued and heard. Your customer service will be unforgettable!Source [ SlickText ]