Death in Life in Alfred Lord Tennysons Poetry Essay -- Alfred Lord Te

Death in Life in Alfred Lord Tennyson's Poetry Alfred Lord Tennyson, a Victorian poet, used characters from history and mythology for his poetry. Much of his poetry touches upon the subject of death and loneliness. For example, the Lady of Shallot dies when she looks beyond her inner world, Mariana lives in constant sadness over her departed lover, and Tithonus lives forever in an agony worse than death. With a background of melancholia, isolation or anguish Tennyson conveys themes of half-life and death-in-life by the use of uses imagery, symbolism and figures of speech. In the dramatic monologue â€Å"Tithonus,† Tennyson instructs the reader that immortality is not necessarily a desirable thing as Tithonus tries to convince Aurora to make him mortal again. In the poem, Tithonus asks Aurora to grant him immortality, which she does. Although in actual mythology Zeus grants immortality, it is immortality and not eternal youth that Tithonus receives. Therefore, he now â€Å"withers slowly† with a fate worse than death since many jealous gods â€Å"beat me down and marred and waste me.† Tithonus presents the natural cycle of life followed by death by describing how first, â€Å"Man comes† then he â€Å"tills the fields† and finally â€Å"lies beneath†. However, his â€Å"cruel immortality† prevents him from following the same pattern. The rhetorical question, â€Å"Why should a man desire in any way/To vary from the kindly race of man†¦as is most meet for all?† indicates his realization of the absurdity in asking for immortal life. His wish to be immortal like the gods can be interpreted as alluding to Adam and Eve’s desire for the knowledge of God. Anyway, as a â€Å"soft air fans the clouds apart† (personification), Tithonus sees the â€Å"dark world† to which he be... ...cument 1). Mariana lives in her own world, still believing that her lover will come, believing that â€Å"Old faces glimmer’d thro’ the doors,† and confounded by the â€Å"slow clock ticking, and the sound/Which to the wooing wind aloof/The poplar made.† As evident in these three poems, â€Å"Tithonus,† â€Å"Lady of Shallot† and â€Å"Mariana in the Moated Grange,† Tennyson often portrays the world as a sad place. Many times, like in â€Å"Tithonus† and â€Å"Lady of Shallot,† there is a conflict between wishes and desires. Also, Tennyson often uses the outer environment to heighten the emotions experienced by the characters. In short, Tennyson is able to convey his themes of half-life and death-in-life through the use of imagery, symbolism and figures of speech. Bibliography: 1. http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson 2. http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/tennyson/losillus1.html

Functions of Management Essay example -- essays research papers

Functions of Management What are the four functions of management and how do they relate to my organization? The Management Process... as refereed to by our text describes four basic functions – Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling. While each of these functions on their own play an important role in management applied correctly they can be key to the success or failure of your organization. The first of these functions is that of planning. Planning is more than merely setting goals and deciding on a course of action. The text explains planning as â€Å"developing rules and procedures, developing plans (both for the organization and for those who work in it), and forecasting (predicting or projecting what the future holds for the firm)†. The process of this first function is performed on many levels of the organization. In our organization the process of planning generally starts with the Senior Leadership Team and then works its way thru the organization. During this annual process goals are determined, plans are developed and budgets forecasted. As the process cascades thru the organization each functional area is identified. Tasks are aligned with goals, and goals are aligned with tasks. Projects are aligned with plans and plans aligned with budgets. The second of these functions is organizing. The text explains organizing as â€Å"identifying jobs to be done, hiring people to do them, establishing departments, delegating or pushing authority down to subordinates, establ...

Isis power rating

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Eleven (SOIL) also translated as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or al sham (ISIS) and known In Arabic by the acronym Dates is an anta- Shell's unrecognized Islamic state In Iraq and Syria. Being unrecognized by the international community, it is difficult to accurately classify the organization/state and therefore difficult to rate in terms of power. L However, ISIS itself claims sovereignty and statehood and has proven that it is capable of forming a government and managing the territory it controls.Assuming that ISIS is a state in the international community It would be classified as a pre-modern state, unable to malignant complete self-sufficiency with power mainly In the form of hard military and law enforcement. It lacks Diplomacy and more subtle means of population control. 2 In relation to its neighbors, ISIS remains a powerful suitor to claim the territory and a substantial military power, but also uses smart powerful negotiations with m any groups and states in their location.In a power rating out of 10, ISIS can muster a 6 among the world, due not only to its surprising military success but its potential for economic prosperity. While It contains a great deal of industry and Infrastructure allowing maintaining self-sufficiency, the current state Is not responsible for the formation of the aspects or a more modern state. Instead ISIS relies on the backbone of systems set in place by the regimes that ruled over the area before SIS'S rise to power. Therefore ISIS still remains reliant on other states to function and has yet to prove substantial ability to maintain and advance such necessities.Its sources of military power come from a strong and trending Ideology that pulls In supporters room all over the world and gives the state an almost endless supply of man power. The remaining government of Iraq has stated that the state may have over 100,000 troops at its disposal. 3 That is half the amount of nearby Turkey and would put ISIS into the top 25 largest militaries on earth. 4 Another source of power in the area is the natural resources. Bother Syria and Iraq the countries occupied by ISIS has tremendous reserves of oil. Possibly the most sought after natural resource of our time, the occupied area makes pop a large part of the world's OLL reserve. If ISIS establishes Itself as a legitimate state and Is able to capitalize on Its OLL wealth It would also be able to pick up the trade relations that Syria and Iraq already maintained with many major states in the international system. A place where ISIS still lacks is access to the sea. While both Iraq and Syria have coastline and ports, ISIS is unable to maintain control of sea access for extended periods of time.Without substantial sea access the Islamic State could see Itself cut off from much needed resources and restricted to what It can produce within its area of Influence alone. We will be looking at the Instruments of power ISIS has which has seven different categories those being, Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic, Financial, Intelligence, and Law enforcement. First let's take a look at the areas ISIS controls. First being Iraq. Iraq is a country in the Middle East with a 80 percent being Arab and the other 20 percent being Kurdish.The two major religions in Iraq at this time are Muslim and Christian. 6 The predominate language is Arabic and Kurdish, and the Arab. The two main languages are Arabic and Kurdish, and the top two religions are Muslim and Christianity The country has a population of about 17 million. 8 Now let's talk about their instruments of power. When it comes to diplomacy ISIS really has none. They are not interested in finding a peaceful resolution they Just want to continue their bloody rampage in the Middle East.Although they fore other countries to be diplomatic to find a solution to get rid of ISIS as you can see in this quote from the U. N. â€Å"It called on Member States to take n ational measures to prevent fighters from traveling from their soil to Join the groups. â€Å"9 The next subject is Information his is one of SIS'S strong suits. As a whole their organization is very well informed. They have a very big communication network all over the world giving them up to date information which allows them to be better informed about what's happening around them. The next subject is Military power.This is where ISIS really shines, because they are nothing but a military â€Å"state† if you will everything they do is through their fighting organizations. The only way ISIS has gained any territory is through a violent take over which usually includes widespread fighting and sometimes mass executions. For a terrorist organization they are very well equipped and trained. They are well armed having a large number of small arms. They also have a very large motor pool of vehicle, some new pickup truck as we have seen in many pictures as well as many heavy mili tary vehicles like tanks they capture as they advance their territory.They also have more military type training than most terrorist organization and all these factors are what make them more like a formal military than a band of fighters. Even top U. S. Military officials think so as we can see in this quote, â€Å"They're incredible fighters. ISIS teams in many places use special operations HTTPS,† said the second official, who has considerable combat experience, using the military term for â€Å"tactics, techniques and procedures. † ISIS has accomplished most of its goals through military force.I'm going to combine the next two types of power because they are very similar those being economics and financial power. This is another big area for ISIS which also separates them from normal terrorist groups. ISIS is very well of financially for a couple reasons. One ISIS earns about three million dollars a day from a couple different avenues. The biggest being the sale of oil as we can see in these quotes, â€Å"Their principal source of income is the oil produced by the installations situated in the east of Syria. 10 â€Å"After all, the terrorists sell their crude oil at a bargain price – between 15 and 40 dollars per barrel, compared to an international quotation on the market of about 100 dollars. â€Å"al This shows how organized they are economically. They also make money by collecting taxes in the areas they control as well as through kidnappings of foreign diplomats. The next subject is Intelligence, again as with the information ISIS is very well informed they SE drones to survey their territories and gather info on their enemy's they have scouts as well.Just like a real military they have their own Intel networks which is one reason thy fight so effectively and can take over areas so quickly. The last type of power is Law enforcement; this is very similar to their military power they rule with an iron fist they keep control over their territories by intimidation and if people don't obey they kill them they are truly ruthless. What approach ISIS uses in the international system, might be. They would use hard power because that seems to be art power. ISIS use Smart powers the most when interacting with other nations.I say this because as I mentioned in a previous paper they know how to interact with western nations by acting refined and somewhat civilized but when they interact with its surrounding neighbors they try to appear as violent and blood thirsty as possible. That's why they use Smart power because they have specific tailored designs for each country they deal with. The Islamic State is a certainly controversial and debated institution, but due to its military power and its ability to maintain its land it shows attention to outlast the coalition's waging war against it.While it is currently dependent on the infrastructure of its predecessor states, if it were to become a recognized state the land it wishes to encompass in a caliphate is rich in resources and religious national fervor. It is an easy movement from its current position to modern self-reliant state if they are to win the war. While it is not recognized and currently despised by its surrounding nations it has a power rating of 6 out of 10 due to its impressive military success and its large possibility for economic gain.

Rampart Scandal

Abstract This paper looks at the history of the Los Angeles Police Department as it relates to police culture and several major incidents leading up to the Rampart Scandal. The police culture of a young LAPD ultimately seemed to linger and affect the LAPD of today. The lack of supervision and positive community interaction seemed to solidify the primitive police culture. The History of Police Culture Leading to the Rampart Scandal The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the biggest and most innovative police departments in the world that has been in existence since 1853.The LAPD encompasses nearly 468 square miles in over 19 divisions and employing nearly 10,000 sworn police officers to police a population of roughly 4 million people (Los Angeles Police Department, 2012). When many people think of police, they often have visions of old television re-runs of Adam 12 or Dragnet, both of which were police shows with officers and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department. The television programs depicted officers and detectives conducting their investigations, where the officers maintained absolute professionalism when making arrests or dealing with the public.These television programs never told the true story of crime and life out on the street or the real people that police it every day. The Los Angeles Police Department has had a very colorful history as it has led to modern times. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Watts Riots of 1965, the Rodney King Riots of 1992 and the Rampart Scandal all have had an impact on the LAPD and law enforcement in general, as well as how the public perceives police and their mission.In 1926, when Chief James Davis ran the LAPD, he gave a directive to his officers to rid the city of the â€Å"gun toting element and rum smugglers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and if his officers showed mercy to these people that he would reprimand them for that behavior (The LAPD:1926-1950, 2012). The mentality of Chief James Davis is where the LAPD e ssentially started, in a time when there was no true equality of citizens. The police officers were threatened with the possibility of losing their jobs if they showed mercy to people that they dealt with on the streets.With that type of attitude, the police and citizens did not have any type of a working relationship to solve problems or create an atmosphere of trust with the general public; only fear. There have been many Police Chiefs since that time and many have attempted to change the atmosphere in which the officers operate and treat each other and the citizens. Chief Willliam Parker ran the LAPD from 1950 until his death in 1966. Chief Parker was able to desegregate the LAPD and he allowed minority officers to work areas where they traditionally weren’t allowed to work before due to their minority status.Chief Parker also created a â€Å"professional† model of policing so as to cope with the rising population with a small amount of police officers (Martin, 2009 ). Despite the fact that change in how the LAPD dealt with the population was coming, the underlying attitude amongst most officers was that they were the law and they could do most anything that they felt needed to be done. To feed to this totalitarian attitude, the LAPD has had to deal with many civil unrest situations like the Watts Riots of 1965.The Watts Riots stemmed from an arrest of an African American subject named Marquette Frye that took place in the Watts neighborhood on Los Angeles. An altercation started possibly out of frustration with the lack of employment, housing and quality schools in the Watts area and turned into six days of riotous behavior in that poverty stricken area of Los Angeles. The LAPD as well as members of the National Guard were deployed to quell the violence on the streets (Unknown, 2012).The riot cost the lives of thirty-four people and created an even bigger rift with the LAPD and the community in which it serves. The police culture that had been passed on to generations of LAPD officers was one that was truly inconsistent with what law enforcement should be about. This came from an era where racial segregation was common in various parts of the country but civil rights began to become a hot topic in the world. The way in which officers of the LAPD dealt with people while interacting and doing their jobs was such an ineffective way of enforcing the laws as they were meant to be enforced.Many times the personal rights of individuals guaranteed under the United States Constitution were trampled on just because the attitudes of those in charge of both the police and the courts were primitive. Chief Daryl Gates took the helm of the LAPD in 1976 and he was creative in his ideas on how to modernize the LAPD. Chief Gates was there during the 80’s when gang-related violence was at an all-time high and something had to be done to effectively combat the problem. Community Policing philosophy was not a new idea at this point, b ut it had not been effectively implemented to cause any change. Chief Gates had the LAPD begin is form of â€Å"proactive† or iron fist policing tactics by implementing Operation Hammer in the streets in 1987. Operation Hammer was a police officer overload by the C. R. A. S. H. officers (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) in a certain area that has been experiencing numerous acts of gang-violence and officers enforce laws with ferocity using a zero-tolerance attitude with everybody in the neighborhood. This type of policing countered with other community policing programs that were in place to ensure that residents of these impoverished neighborhoods were being provided resources to help their situations (Sahagan, 1990).Operation Hammer was not just a way for the LAPD to take violent criminals off the streets, but some have said that it was LAPD’s way of sending a message to the violent offenders to stop the violence. Officers during these various â€Å"oper ations† were not only searching and seizing items of evidence, but destroying property and disrespecting family of the gang members they sought to arrest. These tactics were not effective and did nothing to combat the crime but seemed to enrage the citizens of those neighborhoods to cause further community relations problems for the LAPD.The distrust with the public and the LAPD continued to get worse until March 1991, when officers from the LAPD began chasing a speeding vehicle in their jurisdiction from the freeway. Rodney King was the driver of that speeding vehicle and he led officers on a chase that ultimately ended in a neighborhood area, where residents were woken up and videotaped recorders began recording. The videotape showed Rodney King being beaten numerous times with police batons at the hands of officers of the LAPD. The result was that the videotaped beating was given to the news media, which aired the footage to the world.The public outcry wanted the officers c harged for using excessive force upon Rodney King, which resulted in four officers being charged for using excessive force and ultimately acquitted of all charges. The response to the verdicts sparked complete civil unrest in the South Central area of Los Angeles, where the original beating took place. Initial rioters became enraged at the fact that an incident that was videotaped for the world to see could not convict police officers of excessive force. The riots lasted a total of six days and damage was estimated at one billion dollars.At this point, there was no relationship with the LAPD and the impoverished areas of Los Angeles and crime seemed to run rampant. The attitude of the LAPD had not evolved with the world’s views on civil rights and it had been proven based on the various riots and scandals of this era of the LAPD. I feel that in some ways, attempts had been made at this point to try and connect with the community but the weak attempts failed. LAPD continued to use their iron fist approach to handling problems, which history has showed that it was not effective enough to cause change.This attitude caused the LAPD to stand still while the world around was continuing to evolve and grow, which ultimately caused many issues for the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles. During the LA Riots, a young officer named Rafael Perez had been learning the skills of the job to move to the most sought after specialty positions such as narcotics and C. R. A. S. H. positions. When Rafael Perez, a native of Puerto Rico, was a child growing up he had ironically envisioned himself as being a Los Angeles Police Officer like the ones that he watched on the television program â€Å"Adam-12†.Rafael Perez ended up landing a police officer job with the LAPD in 1989, a time when tension amongst police officers and the communities it served was at a boiling point (Cannon, 2000). Many officers, ultimately found to be involved in some type of scandal or wrongdoing w ithin the LAPD had been hired within the same time period and had grown up with the LAPD police culture. Rafael Perez and many other officers involved in the Rampart Scandal, including Kevin Gaines, David Mack, and Nino Durden were hired in a time period between 1988 and 1990.Some critics say that these officers and many other officers that have partaken in misconduct of a criminal nature were hired at a time when there were federal rules of affirmative action hiring practices. These federal rules forced agencies, such as the LAPD to hire minority candidates and lower standards based on race and sex. When hiring standards for candidates of any job, much less a law enforcement job are lowered then the candidates are less desireable, regardless of race or sex. A statistical analysis of data from the U. S.Department of Justice from economist John Lott found that â€Å"aggressive† affirmative action hiring practices requiring a quota for hiring minority officers increased crime r ates. The report reads â€Å"When affirmative action rules take over†¦ the result is a reduced quality of officers† (Golab, 2005) With the federal regulations requiring affirmative action hiring practices, police departments, including the LAPD got away from the traditional hiring practices. Normally police officers are chosen as good candidates when they are hired on value-based hiring practices.The practices are to look thoroughly into the candidate’s background, mental background and learn about the candidate and his/her morals and values. When affirmative action regulations take over, value-based hiring practices are not used due to the fact that a minority quota is put in place instead of hiring the best quality candidate regardless of race or sex. In the case of the LAPD, this type of hiring practice allowed people like Rafael Perez, David Mack and the rest to take the law into their own hands and victimize citizens of Los Angeles.Once the officers in the Ra mpart Scandal were hired onto the LAPD, they learned how to do their jobs and in some instances came off as model police officers. Many of these officers received awards and commendations for the work that they had done while employed with the LAPD. Although I don’t know the entire career of these officers, it seems likely that their careers started with very minor â€Å"perks† being given to them as a result of their position of authority. Officers on this slippery-slope model of police corruption are brought into grafting subcultures that are already involved in this sort of corrupt and illegal activity.Once the newer officers of the group begin their path on the slippery-slope of corruption, it is often difficult for them to ever come back. This is due to them being a part of previous corruption, where other members of the grafting subculture group were witness to, and there is now fear amongst the members of the corruption being discovered. In the case of the LAPD, it appeared that the officers found to be involved in the corruption, had been involved for quite some time.The investigation into the Rampart Scandal began with the investigation into a shooting death of an off-duty LAPD officer by an on-duty LAPD narcotics detective. When investigators began looking into this case, they found that the off-duty officer that was killed, named Kevin Gaines had been involved with Death Row Records. Death Row Records was owned and run by a Piru-Blood gang member named Suge Knight. Kevin Gaines was also alleged to be involved with the Piru-Blood gang. As investigators looked deeper they found several LAPD officers working for Death Row Records and being involved in the Piru-Blood gang.A incident occurred on November 6, 1997 when the Bank of America branch in South Central Los Angeles was robbed at gun point. Two men entered the bank and demanded money from the customer service manager and she gave them approximately $722,000. When robbery detectives be gan investigating the crime, they were able to question the customer service manager extensively and she revealed that the bank robbery was an â€Å"inside job†, with the main suspect being her boyfriend and LAPD officer David Mack.Two days after the bank robbery, David Mack and Rafael Perez had gone to Las Vegas to celebrate. Investigators were learning that Rafael Perez had a relationship with each of these other officers and Rafael Perez was even thought to have been the second suspect in the bank robbery. When questioned about the bank robbery and his relationship with David Mack, Rafael Perez denied any involvement with the robbery but said that David Mack had saved his life when they worked in a narcotics unit together (Cannon, 2000).While investigators were looking for clues in the Kevin Gaines shooting and the Mack bank robbery, the LAPD began investigating the theft of six pounds of cocaine from the evidence storage by one of their officers. The officer was Rafael Pe rez and he had already been suspected of being associated with Kevin Gaines and David Mack. Rafael Perez also had a connection to Death Row Records and had gang ties to the Piru-Blood gang. Rafael was a member of the C. R. A. S. H. anti-gang unit at the time, which was a unit that had quickly gained a reputation for playing hardball with gang members but also for being corrupt.Investigators would soon learn that many other officers in the Rampart Division were a part of the noble cause corruption that seemed to run rampant in that division. David Mack was convicted of federal bank robbery charges and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison, even though the money was never recovered and the other suspect has never been identified. Rafael Perez was able to negotiate a sentence of five years in prison in exchange for Rafael Perez’s cooperation in identifying additional corruption of other officers within the Rampart Division of the LAPD (Cannon, 2000).The LAPD administration a nd the LA District Attorney’s Office felt that too many incidents of corruption were coming out of the Rampart Division and this was a fair way to make sure that they cleaned up the division and go after the corrupt officers. Rafael Perez talked with investigators about the socialization to C. R. A. S. H. and how officers new to the unit are treated and tested to see if they are trustworthy enough to be part of the corruption that was taking place. He also stated that the supervisors knew about the corruption and even encouraged officers to do whatever it took to make arrests and bring in uns, drugs and money from the streets (Caldero & Crank, 2004). Some citizens of the area seemed to think that what C. R. A. S. H. unit officers were doing to rid the streets of thugs and gang members was worth it to keep them safe. Others had differing feelings regarding the way officers acted, as many innocent people not affiliated with any gangs were caught up in the fray. Rafael Perez det ailed to investigators about the patterns of corruption that were used by C. R. A. S. H. unit officers. This included using the INS to deport gang members or people that associated with gang members.Often times â€Å"sweeps† were conducted and INS agents were used during these â€Å"sweeps† to get gang members off the streets. Using the INS for this purpose was strictly forbidden by the LAPD policies but seemed to be a common practice for members of the C. R. A. S. H. unit as a tactic. Other tactics that officers were using would be to plant guns and drugs on subjects, use violence against suspects, and to lie under oath during court proceedings all to ensure that gang members were prosecuted (Caldero & Crank, 2004).During investigators debriefs with Rafael Perez, he blamed the LAPD and the aggressive police culture that it has bred as the reason that he became a corrupt officer. The C. R. A. S. H. unit motto, which was printed over the office door read â€Å"We intim idate those who intimidate others. † Rafael Perez said that he developed that US vs. THEM attitude that many police officers develop over time of working with and around hardened criminals. He blamed the supervisors and management of the LAPD for expecting high numbers of arrests and seizures as a catalyst for the accepted corrupt police culture amongst the C.R. A. S. H. officers (Cannon, 2000). Rafael Perez told investigators about a time when he and fellow C. R. A. S. H. unit officer Nino Durden shot an unarmed gang member, Javier Ovando. The shooting resulted out of a second contact with Ovando for trespassing, but the clear motive for the shooting is still not known. Durden and Perez planted a gun on Ovando after the shooting and Ovando was later charged and convicted for assault on a police officer with a firearm.Investigators knew that Rafael Perez had lied about many of the details of the shooting of Ovando, and this called into question the other corruption cases that Rafael Perez had been telling investigators about (Cannon, 2000). The corruption cases that have been learned from the Rampart Division Scandal prompted the US Department of Justice to mandate LAPD to enter into a consent decree. The Assistant Attorney General accused the LAPD of â€Å"engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force, false arrests, and unreasonable searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. (unknown, 2012) The consent decree was used as a tool to reform the police culture of the LAPD and to hold the LAPD accountable for violations of policy and procedure as well as criminal laws by officers of the LAPD. I feel that the history of the LAPD is the history of what we call modern day policing. LAPD has been so inventive and they have led the way in innovation in some regards. The attitudes of past leaders of the LAPD caused a police culture that was that of rough and tumble and not willing to â€Å"take shitâ⠂¬  from anybody.This type of attitude was prevalent for many years and spread to most police agencies, becoming the way to do police work. LAPD did not change with the times and continued with the attitude that they were above the law ultimately causing corruption to run rampant throughout the ranks. Understanding the history of the LAPD and the police culture that it has promoted, the consent decree was a necessary thing that has been used to reel in the aggressive tactics of officers that seemingly went unsupervised.The federal consent decree caused the LAPD to revisit the policies and procedures that were supposed to have been used by officers and supervisors alike. All personnel received additional training to hold each individual accountable to what they were responsible for. The future of the LAPD is one that many outsiders will look on with baited breath to see if the consent decree helped with changing aggressive police culture and problems associated with it. Only time wi ll tell to see if they (LAPD) learned their lesson and realize that they are there to uphold the laws and protect lives and property. ReferencesLos Angeles Police Department. (2012). Retrieved from lapdonline. org The LAPD:1926-1950. (2012). Retrieved from The Official Site of the Los Angeles Police Department: lapdonline. org/history_of_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1109 Caldero, M. , & Crank, J. P. (2004). Police Ethics: The Corruption of Noble Cause,Second Edition. Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Cannon, L. (2000, October 1). One Bad Cop. Retrieved from The New York Times Magazine: http://www. truthinjustice. org/20001001mag-lapd. html Golab, J. (2005, June). How Racial P. C. Corrupted the LAPD (and Possibly Your Local Force as Well). The American Enterprise, 16(4).Retrieved from http://www. questia. com/library/1G1-132678217/how-racial-p-c-corrupted-the-lapd-and-possibly-your Martin, G. B. (2009, January 28). LAPD Chief Parker:a product of his time. Retrieved from LA Times: www. la times. com/news/opinion Sahagan, L. (1990, December 25). Parents called Vital to ‘Operation Hammer'. Retrieved from LA Times: http://articles. latimes. com/1990-12-25/local/me-7125_1_operation-hammer unknown. (2012). The Aftermath. Retrieved from Frontline: www. pbs. org Unknown. (2012, April 30). Watts Riots. Retrieved from Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl. usg. edu/events/watts_riots/

Critical theory and professionalism Essay

In what ways can critical theory shed light on professionalism? This presentation explores how critical theory can provide a perspective for critiquing professionalism in education. In so doing the nature of the relationship between the professionalisation and social movement trends in education is addressed. An attempt at a definition of professionalism is going to be the focus of the first part of the presentation. Several concepts articulated within critical theory are discussed for their relevance to the issue of professionalism. The work of the Frankfurt School is underlined, drawing parallels to the work of Gramsci and Freire. In the final analysis, specific issues and questions raised by the perspective of Critical Theory are reflected upon as they apply to the professionalisation of education. The concept of professionalism Literature on professionalism is in its abundance. There have been many attempts at providing a clear definition, including the government-led agendas calling for higher degrees on professionalism in education. It can be noted at the outset that attempts at coming up with a definition of professionalism in education have struggled to agree on a particular one. Freidson (1994) has concluded that the use of the term professionalism is inconsistent. He argues that professionalism is ‘The Third Logic’, claiming that professions are occupational groupings that exercise relatively high degrees of control over the conditions as well as how they carry out their work. This kind of arrangement provides a mechanism for organising some aspects of social life in a way that properly deploys specialist knowledge. Professionalism is therefore viewed as a mode of social coordination and competes with, and provides some insulation from, both market and bureaucratic forms of organisation. It has also been viewed as â€Å"a state of mind† or ideology that reflects a way of thinking about the cognitive aspects of a profession and the characteristics that typify a professional (Van Ruler, 2005). In other words, in the case of teaching, professionalism is the cultural means by which we give meaning, purpose, definition, and direction to work as professionals and the place of practitioners in society. It can therefore be claimed that there is no universal agreement of the concept. It has been implored by some authorities for teaching to become evidence-based profession like medicine and law. Hargreaves, for example describes teaching as the â€Å"paradoxical profession†. He asserts that of all the jobs that are, or aspires to be professions, only teaching is expected to create the human skills and capacities that will enable individuals and organizations to survive and succeed. (Hargreaves, 2003). Carr (1992) has suggested that in this ‘extended’ view of educational professionalism, education and teaching are to be understood by reference to the elaborative network of public duties, obligations and responsibilities in which teaching as a social role is implicated. It can be asserted that if teaching is a profession, there has been an assumption that teachers should be equipped with capacities for autonomous judgement and the freedom to exercise this judgement. It could be considered inappropriate for politicians or employers to dictate to teachers what is or is not worthy of inclusion in the school curriculum, or what kinds of knowledge and skill are crucial for the professional conduct of teaching. It is with this view in mind that Flinders (1980) has argued that teaching is an open-ended activity. Helsby (1995) claims that professionalism is subject to geographical and cultural differences and it can be understood as relating to exceptional standards of behaviour, dedication as well as a strong service ethic. This view is supported by Bryan (2003) who argues that professional work can be seen to be increasingly influenced by politics. This can be justified by the claim that the policies of governments are ideologically driven, hence professionalism may be understood as constructs which develop in response to ideological influences. Thomas (2012) uses professionalism as a descriptor of a combination of teachers’ specific capabilities and knowledge, the purpose and ethical underpinnings of their work, the extent to which they are able to exercise independent and critical judgement, their role in shaping and leading changes in their field, and their relationship to other stakeholders. Despite the vicissitude of the notion of professionalism in education, standard analyses of how this concept can be applied in public services such as teaching and nursing have stressed the importance of specialist knowledge  and expertise, ethical codes as well as procedures concerned with training, induction and continuing professional development (Flexner, 1915; Larson, 1977; Langford, 1978; Eraut, 1994). Attached to this view of professionalism is the assumption that in exchange for a greater say in matters related to school and teaching, teachers are expected to submit to greater levels of scrutiny and work roles that go beyond classroom teaching (Stone-Johnson, 2013). In this exchange there is a shift of power whereby as the work of the teachers becomes increasingly professionalised, teachers appear to have surrendered degrees of professionalism. The critical project in education supervenes from the postulation that pedagogical practices are linked to social practices, and that it is the task of the critical intellectual to identify and address injustices in these practices. The Frankfurt School’s perception of Critical Theory was driven by an underlying commitment to the notion that theory as well as practice must inform the work of those who seek to transform the oppressive conditions that exist in the world. Their ideas influenced other great critical theorists such as Freire and Gramsci. If the notion of critical theory is to be linked to the debate on professionalism, it can be argued that the development of critical pedagogy out of critical theory has changed the way through which the role of the teacher is seen, particularly the professional position of the teacher in the society. It has been argued that there has been a widespread erosion of professional autonomy in recent years (Barton et al, 1994, Whitty et al 1998). This has been a result of the centralisation of control over all aspects of teacher’s work such as curriculum (National Curriculum, literacy and numeracy hours), assessment, (SATs, QAA/ Ofsted Inspections) and conditions of service (imposed by the employers in a controlled quasi-market regulated by centralist funding formulae, league tables and inspection regimes.) (Freidson, 2001). This can be corroborated by a survey of teachers carried by Helsby and McCulloch (1997) as it showed that the government onslaught of edicts and initiatives demolished professionalism. It has been argued the formulation of policy documents have positioned the teacher as fundamentally impotent in terms of curriculum design. The teacher  has been reduced to a mere curriculum deliverer. This is mainly to system of communication that is viewed as one-sided by educational critiques. Murphy and Fleming (2010) have attempted to deal with this issue by using the Habermas’ notion of communicative action. They argue that, for Habermas, the essential feature of communicative action is that it aims at reaching agreement. Furthermore in order for that agreement to be not only mutually acceptable but satisfactory, its participants must be willing to make and defend validity claims such as claims of truth, rightness and truthfulness. Habermas’ notion accedes to the fact that while validity claims are raised automatically in everyday communication, it is only when communication aims primarily at reaching consensus, and when participants provide reasons for their argument, that rationality actually manifests itself. It can be argued that in the case of professionalism, Critical Theory is meant to herald a liberatory education that empowers stakeholders, fosters curiosity and critical thinking, and provides a means for crucial successful bottom-up, top-down engagement in the political arena. The introduction of a prescriptive and centralised National Curriculum has greatly weakened the professional confidence of teachers, (Helsby and McCulloch, 1997). It has also left them uncertain of their ability to cope and of their right to take major curriculum decisions. This has resulted in the government having more control over the teaching profession, (Meyer- Emerick, 2004). Critical theory prefers to call this process ‘one-dimensionality’ of life. Thus this extended the existing understanding of power and its impact on the construction of knowledge. Gramsci was deeply concerned with the manner in which domination was undergoing major shifts and changes within the industrial western societies. He developed a theory of hegemony, whereby he sought to explain the manner by which these changes were exercised more and more through the moral leaders of the society (including teachers) who participated in and reinforced universal ‘common sense’ notions of what is considered to be truth in society. This is consonant with Foucault’s questioning of what he termed ‘regimes of truth’ that were upheld and perpetuated through the manner in which particular knowledge was legitimated within the context of a variety of power relationships within the society. Foucault’s perceptions of power is not  solely at play in the context of domination, but also in the context of creative acts of resistance and these are produced as human beings are interact across the dynamic of relationship and shaped by moments of dominance and autonomy. Such a viewpoint challenges the dichotomised standpoint of either domination or powerlessness of power as enticed by radi cal education theorists. Thus it can be argued that Foucault’s writing on knowledge and power shed light on a critical understanding of the teaching profession in relation to authority. More so it does open the door to a better understanding of power relations within the context of teaching practice.

Role of social media in the success of the 2011 Egyptian revolution Research Paper

Role of social media in the success of the 2011 Egyptian revolution - Research Paper Example Egypt uprising, or as otherwise called 25th January transformation of 2011, following 11 days after Zine El Abidine, the Tunisian president was toppled when a huge number of Egyptians rated in the roads requesting the acquiescence of Hosni Mubarak. During the challenges in Cairo, one lobbyist depicted why social media was vital to the association of political turmoil. "We utilize Facebook to plan the dissents, Twitter to organize, and YouTube to tell the world, â€Å"On June 6, 2010, Khaled Said was pounded the life out of by police in a cybercafà © near Alexandria. His death advanced a remarkable solidarity in Egypt. After his death Wael Ghonim had established a Facebook page titled, "We Are All Khaled Said," It posted cell phone photographs from the funeral home of his beaten and bloodied face, and YouTube recordings played up differentiating pictures of him upbeat and grinning with the realistic pictures from the mortuary. The Facebook page of Khaled Saeed wound up noticeably fo cal in the dispersion of challenges all through Egypt, as a substantial number of individuals utilized it as a wellspring of data chosen to get out to the road in a quiet exhibit set on the twenty-fifth of January, 2011.On the other hand, Twitter was another segment of social media that was generally utilized during the transformation of 25th of January. During the unrest, Egyptian Twitter clients utilized this government for political talk, association, sincerity, and enlistment, considerably changing business as usual".

Espionage during the Cold War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Espionage during the Cold War - Essay Example s had a secret service that was quite developed and the ancient Chinese treatise on the art of war throws light on deception and intelligence gathering and says that all war is based on deception. Political espionage gained importance during the Middle Ages. Joan of Arc was betrayed by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, a spy employed by the English, and Sir Francis Walsingham is credited with developing an efficient political spy system for Queen Elizabeth I. In the modern age systematized espionage became an essential part of government in most countries. Joseph Fouchà © developed the first modern political espionage system, and Frederick II of Prussia is considered the founder of modern military espionage. Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold became famous spies during the American Revolution. During the U.S. Civil War there was considerable use of spies and by World War I, all big powers except the United States had elaborate espionage systems. After World War II, espionage activity increased co nsiderably especially during the cold war between the United States and the former USSR. It has not stopped with that As Stephen Dalziel (2000) says â€Å"Anyone who thought that the end of the Cold War a decade or so ago would mean the end of espionage has received plenty of examples to show them that, Cold War or not, the worlds states want to know more about each other.† Though the Soviet Union was a temporary ally of the United States during World War II, things changed after the dropping of atomic bombs and by the late 1940s the Soviet Union and the United States became ideological opponents both striving to gain political, economic, social, and cultural dominance in the world. This non military rivalry came to be known as the â€Å"Cold War.† The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was unlike traditional wars where armies are used and shots are fired. It was a rivalry that was both tense and competitive. The war was a long war, lasting from 1945 to 1989.