The Assessors Main Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

The Assessors Main Responsibilities Essay Assess the learner’s knowledge, understanding, skills and competence against the criteria set by the awarding body. The assessor must at all times display a fair and professional manner. High standards must be maintained and a thorough understanding of the standards and criteria each learner is working towards is needed. To plan and undertake assessments using the appropriate assessment methods for example, observation, questioning, discussion, recognising prior learning or examining work products. It is important to apply holistic assessment whenever the opportunity arises. All methods of assessment to be used must be agreed upon and understood by the learner. A thorough initial assessment of each learner must be done to ensure any special requirements can be met. It is important to be aware of learners targets and completion dates and work closely with teachers and tutors to ensure continuous progress is achieved. The assessor must support, guide and encourage learners through the assessment process and judge the competence of their work and recognise when a learner is ready for assessment. The assessor must ensure the assessment experience is a positive one for each learner, whether it has a formative or summative outcome. During assessment all VACSR (valid authentic current specific realistic) points must be followed to ensure all judgements and decisions are fair and correct. The assessor must promote equal opportunities at all times and take into account the individual needs and requirements of the learner. Every learner should be given an equal chance to succeed. After the assessment decision has been made constructive feedback must be given and any further planning and action that may be necessary must be agreed. The assessor must keep accurate and up to date assessment records so the learner can clearly understand and keep track of their progress and achievements. It is  important for the assessor to understand the value of reflective practice and continuous professional development (CPD). The assessor must undertake and provide proof of a minimum of 10 hours, 30 hours if a full time assessor of good quality CPD per year and be fully aware of current standardisation methods and procedures. To uphold their assessor status, the assessor will also be required to attend standardisation meetings and be observed carrying out assessment twice a year by the internal quality assurer (IQA). This ensures they are maintaining standards and have a full understanding of the criteria and may occasionally be observed by the external quality assurer (EQA) thus ensuring standards and quality are maintained at all times. The IQA will support any needs they feel the assessor may have. An up to date knowledge of centre policies and procedures for example, Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity and be able to deal with appeals and disputes is also required.

How Market Systems Cope With Economic Scarcity Economics Essay

How Market Systems Cope With Economic Scarcity Economics Essay Contrast how a market system and a command economy try to cope with economic scarcity. A market system is also known as the free market economy or laissez-faire economy. In market system, household owns the resources and allocate them in the course of the workings of price mechanism. If there is an increase in demand, the price of a good will rises and it will encourages firms to switch extra resources of that certain manufacture of the good or service. Households depend on their income to determine the amount of products they consume and market value of an individuals work will decide households income. There is a limited role for the government in a free market system. This is because government tries to protect the property rights of people and business via the legal system. Besides, the value of currency can be protected with intervene of government. The result is competition and widely dispersed economic power. While in the command system, government owns most property resources. The government also gets to make the economic decision through a central economic plan. The central economic planning board determines production goals for each enterprise and specifics the amount of resources to be allocated. The income and wealth distribution is decided by the government too. In this system, market price plays no part in informing property allocation decisions. For each stock in the stock market, the number of shares sold daily equals the number of shares purchased. That is, the quantity of each firms shares demanded equals the quantity supplied. So, if this equality always occurs, why do the prices of stock shares ever change? The prices of stock shares always change is because there is supply and demand like everything else. The additional buyers there are for the stock, the higher the price as the supply of stock shares is for all time fixed. On the other hand, then stock prices will go down when there are more sellers. Both prospective buyers and sellers each of them willing to buy or sell a number of shares base on the stock price in any given stock trading session. If the quantity of shares demanded exceeds the quantity of shares supplied at the current price, the buyers must raise their price offers to encourage sellers to offer enough shares. This situation will cause the price of shares to rise until the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied. The situation is called the market equilibrium. Now, if there is a report of bad economic news during the shares trading session, the sellers may try to sell out more shares than buyers demanded at the current price. In order to make a quick sale and to find more buyers, the sellers now will lower the selling price of the shares. There will be multiple equilibrium prices going on any trading day, but most of them do not last more than a couple of minutes. In general, demand and supply will affect the change of shares prices. Price Quantity SS DD P0 Q0 In November 1998, Vincent van Goghs self-portrait sold at auction for $71.5 million. Illustrate this sale in a demand and supply diagram and determine the elasticity of supply of this portrait. D1 D0 Price P1 P0 SS Q0 Quantity This graph shows a perfectly inelastic vertical supply curve, at the quantity of 1 unit. The downward sloping demand curve intersected the supply curve is used to determine the price of the portrait which is $71.5 million. When the price increases from P0 to P1, the demand will increases from D0 to D1 where as the quantity supplied is remain unchanged. The demand would likely deceases extremely if there is more than one picture presented. For years a debate has raged between those who favor strategies for reducing the supply of illegal drugs and those who favor strategies designed to reduce demand for illegal drugs. With the aid of two graphs, comment on the situation above using the demand and supply equilibrium analysis. SS1 SS2 DD Price Quantity P1 P2 Q1 Q2 The graph above shows the relationship between demand and supply curve. When those who favors strategies for reducing the supply of illegal drugs, there would be a shift to the left in the supply curve, from SS1 to SS2. The government tries to reduce the supply of illegal drugs by providing subsidies to farmers. This will encourage formers to shift to other crops such as corn instead of crops that produce drugs. Besides, the increasing of border inspection and interdiction of illegal drugs will also affects the supply curve to shift left and upwards, so equilibrium will not achieve. This is due to the decrease in quantity supplied from Q1 to Q2; the price would increase from P1 to P2. This cause less people will buy because of the increases in price. SS P0 P1 Price Quantity Q0 Q1 DD1 DD0 The graph above shows the relationship between demand and supply curve. When those who favors strategies for reducing the demand of illegal drugs, there would be a shift to the left in the demand curve, from DD0 to DD1. The curve will shift to the left is because of government has introduce an educational campaign to explain the disadvantages to human health of illegal drugs. When the curve shift to left and downwards, the market equilibrium is no more achieved. The sales of the illegal drugs would reduce because the demand for illegal drugs has decrease from Q0 to Q1. There are calls from certain quarters proposing that legalizing illegal drugs is the best solution to combating illegal drugs problem. By legalizing illegal drugs, this will increase the amount of illegal drugs available in the market as drug sellers will no longer face prosecution. Addicts benefit too. With the aid of a graph, explain the situation above using the demand and supply equilibrium analysis. Price DD0 P P1 SS0 Quantity SS1 Q Q1 Legalizing illegal drugs will lead to the increases in quantity supply. As a result of this, the supply curve will shift to right from SS0 to SS1. When the supply curve shift to the right, the price of the illegal drugs will decreases from P to P, while the quantity supply will increases from Q to Q. Besides that, drug addicts gain advantages too not only because of the increases in supply but also the legalization of illegal drugs. Provide a counter-argument to the explanation given by the supporters of legalization. Firstly, illegal drugs should not be legalizing because it will only bring destructive effects to our health. It will cause addiction and it will slowly lead to crime. This is because the price of illegal drugs is not cheap and not many addicts can afford it. As a result of not having enough money, addicts will commit all sorts of crimes in order to get money to buy those drugs. If illegal drugs are supported to be legalizing, there would cause a massive numbers of crime rates in the country. People might use drugs to rape, steal or even start a war. Drugs only benefits the addicts as it will cause problem to the government. Government would have to import those drugs from other country and it surely causes a big sum. This will affect the governments financial and the countrys economy. Imagine you are selling a new product in the market. Explain more on the product that you are selling from these aspects: Description of the product that you are selling The product that I am selling is the new model of touch screen laptop. This touch screen laptop is slim and the weight is lighter than normal laptop. Therefore it is very to carry around. This product is aim towards young adults that are working and students that are still studying. With this product, they can carry to their work place and even to schools. Besides, this product also comes with various colors. Consumers can choose the color of the product according to each liking. This product also includes: Bluetooth Built- in GPS system Webcam Water resistant Cold resistant Support Windows 98/XP/Vista/7 6- cell Li- ion battery 4GB RAM Memory How the product is produced or acquired The product is produce in local factory which will be using the modern technology. The internal components for this product will be imported from other country such as America. On the other hand, the external part is supplied by local production. Metal is one of the main resources for this product. Metal is needed in a large amount to produce the laptop. While touch screens are imported from Japan with their high- tech LCD touch screen. The demand aspect of this product e.g. pricing strategies, the threat of competitors, factors affecting demand for this product etc. Pricing Strategies I would use the Price Skimming method which the price is charged higher because this product will have substantial competitors. The high price is to attract more new rivals into the market. Therefore, the price will fall inevitably due to the increase of supply. The price will be set to RM2500. When there are more competitors in the market, I would now change my strategy to economy pricing. Threat of Competitors This touch screen laptop biggest threat is other big company like Acer, HP and also Sony. Although the other competitors are more well recognize, but I believe that my product is better in terms of pricing and functions that are available. Besides, other companies tend to have bigger budget or capital to invest in new product. Therefore it is one biggest threat to my new touch screen laptop. Factors Affecting Demand As for the factors affecting the demand would be the consumers choices and preferences. Consumers taste will be the main factors for the demand curve because it will affect the price as well. Besides, consumers income will contribute to the changes on the demand curve of this product too. If their income increases, they would most likely be able to afford this product. As a result to it, the demand for this product will increase. Elasticity of demand of the product The demand of the product

Analysis of The Justice Cascade by Kathryn Sikkink

Analysis of The Justice Cascade by Kathryn Sikkink The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions Are Changing World Politics. By Kathryn Sikkink. New York: W.W. Norton Company. 2011, 352, pp. $18.42 (Hardcover) The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions Are Changing World Politics Written by Kathryn Sikkink, is an exploration of the need for justice in the political scene. It is an assessment of the significance of accountability among politicians. It further reinforces the need for the empowerment of international tribunals to try cases that involve important political leaders to deter future recurrences of power abuse. Overall, the book seeks to answer the question on how human rights prosecutions influence the world politics? The exploration of this question results led the author to several findings. Firstly, in reinforcing the need for trials of leaders especially in cases of crimes against humanity, the author predicates that the initiative promotes the principle of democracy and promoting human rights as international norm. Logically, as more leaders are put on trial, it becomes more likely that in the future leaders will respect the rights of their people and will think twice before violating human rights. Likewise, it is also likely that individuals in high positions will avoid actions that border on corruption or abuse of power while they are in any governmental or nongovernmental position. The author provided cases of power abuse in several countries. On this manifestation, Sikkink indicates that over the years, a ruptured transition was no longer a condition for prosecutions (Sikkink 83). Secondly, the author undertakes to examine former high-profile cases which involved political figures on an i nternational platform. She negates the claims made by skeptics who prevail that the trials are often a sham intended to deceive the public. Such skeptics indicate that international system is largely intended to benefit the affluent and powerful figures, while neglect the need for the application of the law in its entirety. Sikkink noted that such prosecutions comprise some of the most effective ways by which occurrences of abuse of power and dictatorship nationally and internationally are negated. She attributes the increase in democracy across the globe to such prosecutions. According to Sikkink, the justice cascade is a basic example of norm cascade. The author opts for the term cascades to describe the newly emerging phenomenon. For instance, the social life in the United States is full of these cascades. An example is a policy of banning public smoking which after proposition became widely accepted as the norm (Sikkink 15). Sikkink suggested that the political leaders prosecuti ons will be worldwide accepted as a universal norm. More than ever, countries in Africa, Europe and Latin America do not have to bear the brunt of aggressive leadership as a result of the publicized prosecutions. Leaders of these countries ended up losing immunity for any acts of human rights violation. Shkkink acknowledge the role of human rights activists in these countries. Human rights activists helps to correct the behaviour of political leaders around the globe. In this book, the author discredits the critics who reject the need for the early prosecutorial interventions in the political environment. Such critics suggest that this may be the cause of further conflict in the countries affected by the prosecutions. However, Sikkink supports the idea that such prosecutions have greatly augmented human rights empowerment and democratic efforts initiated in many countries today. The book presents historical and global cases. Sikkink considers the reality of justice and the international norm, the book took a comprehensive approach. It does not limit itself to a particular region of the world, but rather explores the manifestation of political abuses and injustice on a global scale. The global approach ensures that the justice cascade or the prosecutions of political leaders become an international norm. The author hints that without the pursuance of political leaders prosecutions as an international norm, conflicts may continue to arise and resolving these conflicts may be postponed, which leads to division, chaos or maybe civil war in a given country. In engaging an inclusive tone to assess the implications of human rights in the international community, the book succeeds in exploring the contrasts between the previous political environments in many countries and the prevailing stability in countries that were previously unstable. The author predicates that leaders are subjected to fear when they are made to witness the prosecution of their fellows on an international platform (Sikkink 174). The author asserted that, The culminating point of the justice cascade was the creation of the International Criminal Court (Sikkink 209). The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created to ensure that individuals are responsible and will be held accountable for their actions. The author explores the history of the tribunal and the factors that led to its establishment and empowerment. Most of the critics feels that the ICC is partisan and avoids cases that involve superpowers while imposing its power on the weak nations. The book determines that leaders of the powerful countries have not yet charged or prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. For instance, the events that took place in the aftermath of September 11 attack in New York, which led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The author dissected that at the time, the binding frameworks between the US and the ICC were not fully ratified to prosecute individuals who were found to have propagated torture of suspects. Although , the United States have signed the Rome statute, but on May 6, 2002 the United States formally withdrew its intent of ratification. The book answers the tough questions with regards to the power of the international tribunals to prosecute political and high-ranking figures. It attributes the reduction in cases of political abuse to the increased empowerment of international prosecutions. Sikkinks analysis allows the reader access to the history and progress of human rights protection frameworks on a global scale. It provides the readers the foundational knowledge that they require to fully understand the implications of human rights prosecutions on the international scene.

Terrorism and Human Rights :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

  Ã‚   As we try to come to grips with the tragedy of September 11, as individuals and as social scientists, a human rights approach can provide some guidance. A human rights approach always begins with, and has at its center a concern with individual victims of rights abuses. We turn first to the victims of the September 11 attack and their families and friends. The enormity of the loss of life, and the premeditated nature of the attacks on September 11th justifies calling them a crime against humanity. Murder, when "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population" is a crime against humanity.1 The victims of this crime are entitled not only to our deepest sympathy, but also to justice, either in our courts or in an international tribunal.    I try to start understanding the tragedy of September 11th through the stories of the people who have lost their lives, in New York, Washington, D.C. or in Afghanistan. Yes, there are differences, but the pain each family feels at the loss of its loved one, and its desire for justice are as deep as victims of rights abuses feel throughout the world.    Often we skip over this first step of starting with the victims and their families. We are trained to explain phenomena using abstract theories. It is second nature to us to immediately ask "why" and begin the search for deep and proximate causes of puzzling events. It may be useful, especially when speaking to the public, to preface our search for explanations with some prior comments. First, a search for explanation does not imply justification. There is no justification for such acts. Nor does any explanation remove the perpetrators' moral and legal responsibility for these criminal acts. Hannah Arendt was concerned about exactly such a point in the last pages of Eichmann in Jerusalem. She wrote: "Another such escape from the area of ascertainable facts and personal responsibility are the countless theories, based on non-specific, abstract, hypothetical assumptions.... which are so general that they explain and justify every event and every deed: no alternative to what actually ha ppened is even considered and no person could have acted differently from the way he did act..... All these cliches have in common that they make judgment superfluous and that to utter them is devoid of all risk." She says that such theorizing is a symptom of "the reluctance evident everywhere to make judgments in terms of individual moral responsibility.

Utopian Society :: essays research papers

Virtually every culture has strived to achieve a Utopian society. A Utopian society is basically a society, which has surpassed aggression, war, hate, and crime while establishing â€Å"peaceful† and orderly communities. A Utopian society could not exist with the individuality that nature has bestowed on the human race. So long as humans remain unique in their state of mind, utopia is a mere fantasy. To work around this problem a society must adapt itself to achieve a utopian-like state. This can be achieved by one of two ways. One way could be known as a â€Å"hostile transfer.† This way is shown in the novel â€Å"farenheight 451† by ray Bradbury. Bradbury shows how the society creates a career of burning books (specifically historical books). The semi communistic semi utopian government then fills in their own twisted version of the past to maintain a stable state of control by keeping their citizens oblivious to their true rights and privileges. This achieves a semi utopian society in the scene that any resistance, crime, aggression is either insignificant to the â€Å"big picture† or easily overcome. Utopia is dismissed in this case because of the extreme force used to maintain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second way to achiever a semi utopia could be called a â€Å"Manipulative utopia†. A strong example would be the utopia created for the novel â€Å"1984† by George Orwell. Within this utopia the society is manipulated by the leading organizations/ government to take pleasure in what would be most profitable to the organizer of the event/product, or be intimidated yet assured with protection by the government. This type of utopia-communistic government dismisses the true utopia factor when the ability to show signs of individuality is disabled through manipulation. The two utopia-like societies have their similarities as well. They both operate independent of other state/country/ or province; both seem to strongly oppose the democratic systems. Both central governments are very cryptic when the issue of past societies is brought up. The commanding organizations also controlled one other aspect of civilization... the media. Newspapers revolving around a â€Å"one sided† political, or military event. The media seems to be very controlled by the governments or leading parties in both cases.

Black Nationalism Essay

Critically discuss the contributions of both Booker T. Washington and W. E. B DuBois to the idea of Black nationalism in the United States. What were the major obstacles they faced in their articulation of the black Nationalist ideology? Booker T. Washington â€Å"was an American political leader, educator and author† who proved to be one of the most dominate figures in African American history in the United States (Booker, par. 1). William Edward Burghardt Du Bois â€Å"was a noted scholar, editor, and African American activist†¦[who] sought to eliminate discrimination and racism† (.. During the late 19th and early 20th century Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois were two great men who significantly influenced the idea of Black Nationalism in the United States. Though they both wanted to see an America where the Negro was treated with proper respect and equality, their views on how to obtain these noble goals contrasted one another. The ideology of DuBois and Washington were so completely different that people became subjected to following the doctrine of one or the other. With the knowledge that only one could be the â€Å"spokesman† for the race the two began a bitter battle to control the Black Nationalism ideology. Amid the competition against one another, both men still had to face other obstacles such as racism in order to further the goals of blacks of the period. Even though the two men had differing opinions on the ideology of Black Nationalism, both would greatly contribute to the idea of Black Nationalism. However, their differing positions on Black Nationalism portrayed a divide amongst African Americans of the time. To understand why Washington and DuBois had such differing opinions it is necessary to look back into the environments that both men came from. Born into slavery in 1856, Washington was the son of a white man and his slave mother Jane. While growing up in Virginia, Washington worked in both a coal mine and as a salt packer. In 1872 Washington left his work to go the Hampton Institute. The major educational doctrine of the school was that former slaves should receive a practical education that centered on skills instead of a liberal arts education. At the institute Washington worked to pay his way through school. After leaving the school, Washington worked for several years before he received an appointment to establish the Tuskegee Institute in 1881. At Tuskegee, Washington used many aspects of the education he received from the Hampton Institute. One of the central ideas that he brought from the institute was the belief that blacks should learn a trade or skill. (Hine 369) William Edward Burghardt DuBois’ background shaped his paralleling views to those of Washington. In contrast to Washington, who was born on a plantation, DuBois was born in a small North Eastern town where he was subject to little overt racism and acquired a much higher education. He was once quoted as saying, â€Å"I was born free. Washington was born a slave. He felt the lash of an overseer across his back. I was born in Massachusetts, he on a slave plantation in the South. My great-grandfather fought with the Colonial Army in New England in the American Revolution. I had a happy childhood and acceptance in the community. Washington’s childhood was hard. I had many more advantages: Fisk University, Harvard, and graduate years in Europe. Washington had little formal schooling (Hine 400). † This quote exemplifies his opposing foundation compared to that of Washington. DuBois’ background made him more comfortable with confrontation with whites, while Washington’s created a deep subconscious feeling of fear and submission. While DuBois enjoyed the benefits that the upper class life had to offer, Washington was faced with scorn, dehumanization, neglect, and prejudice, all of which he had to overcome. It is apparent for the quote that DuBois sympathizes and understands the demeaning nature in which Washington was treated which is the ultimate result of Washington’s pessimistic attitude toward society. Everyone has a different life experience. What one experiences early in their life shapes the way they think and how they view society later in their life. Typically an early life of tranquility, less hardships, and opportunity to succeed lends itself to one having a more optimistic view of society where as an early life of great hardships and little to no opportunity results in an individual having a more judgmental and disparaging view of society. This was the case with Booker T. Washington. Growing up as a slave, Washington was presented with many emotional and physical hardships which were the causes of his critical view of society. However, Washington manipulated the lessons that his early life experience had taught him to shape his view on society. He utilized these teachings to provide insight on how he wanted to bring about change within society in order to initiate progress and advancement. Booker T. Washington was particularly interested in the advancement of Blacks in a predominantly white society. Growing up as a slave he had little opportunity to achieve anything, however, because he was a slave he learned to value old-fashioned hard work which transposed over to him greatly valuing agricultural education as a major aspect of Tuskegee. With hard work being one of his fundamental values, he was convinced â€Å"that the surest way for black people to advance [in society] was by learning skill and demonstrating a willingness to do manual labor (Hine 369). † In a speech at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta in 1895, Washington stated that â€Å"no race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top (Hine 370). † This statement asserted that Washington believed people, mainly black people, could gain the respect and acceptance of white Americans through acquiring skills and becoming prosperous small farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers. If Blacks were to continuously demonstrate this humility then it will eventually result in the eradication of the race problem of the time. Booker T. Washington’s belief in living a simplistic life in order to progress not only stemmed from the idea of hard work but also carried on to other beliefs such as the importance of liberal arts education and especially the foundation of industrial growth. He was very committed to promoting industrial education. He stresses that many positive things will branch from such a foundation including the growth in black people’s social life, the growth in black people’s educational life, and the growth in black people’s religious life (Hine 371). This statement shows that Washington felt that men and women who acquired these skills would be recognized as productive contributors to the southern economy thereby, once again, deteriorating the color boundary that was separating society at the time. The purpose of Booker T. Washington’s ideas for trying to assimilate Blacks in this manner was simply to avoid protesting and upheaval that could result in people getting harmed. His goal was to assimilate the black people into white America in a civilized manner, however, in order to achieve it he believed that black people should merely understand there place in society. One positive aspect of Washington’s beliefs was that it promoted steady labor. Washington believed in educating blacks in particular skills in order to maintain steady jobs and make a living. It was important that blacks were able to hold a job in order to function healthily as families, provide for themselves, and help develop their economic independence. At the time, there was increased competition between poor whites and blacks. In order for a black worker to get a job, they must not only deal with learning a particular trade but also overcoming racism. Being educated in common manual labor provided the basis for blacks to work up from. Although blacks were commonly restricted to the lower paying jobs, having a formal training in a skill made their value as a laborer rise. This labor also provided another positive aspect in that it transferred money from the white economy to the black economy. By being able to work for whites, blacks were able to use their income as they pleased. No longer did they have the restrictions placed upon them in slavery. Washington advocated a diverse labor field for blacks. Rather than only advocating farmers, he believed that blacks could be educated in other manual labor such as masonry, mining, and smith work. Another positive aspect of Washington’s beliefs is that it was the beginning in raising blacks out of their lower class position. For the first time blacks were not simply working on farms or plantations, they were acquiring skills. These skills provided the foundation for blacks to work up to gaining an education, earning money, and providing for the future of the next generations. This not only benefits oneself, but also the black community. The ideas of Washington did not inspire conflict or fear in whites because whites viewed that Washington was promoting keeping blacks in menial jobs rather than the higher paying work or typically white jobs such as doctors, lawyers, or politicians. The ideas of Washington enabled educational institutions such as the Tuskegee Institute and other black colleges and universities to exist that encouraged agricultural, mechanical, or technical skills. Since these institutions encouraged blacks to only strive for technical careers rather than offering a liberal arts education it did not inspire fear in whites. Whites were willing to allow black schools to exist that encouraged these skills because in turn these skills would offer a cheap labor but effective labor source. Also these institutions were non-threatening to whites because they offered skills and trades versus an education that would allow for black minds to grow and develop. Even though the education that blacks received from these institutions did not compare to those of liberal art universities, it still did offer blacks a chance at some sort of education. Although not encouraging the deeper growth of the black mind, schools like Tuskegee offered its students an education that would allow them to become proficient at a skill and earn an income. Washington believed that by working and hard, increasing their economic holding and becoming masters of many trades that they could eventually end racism and be accepted by whites. He believed that blacks should not let racism deter one from working. Washington once said, â€Å"Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities (Hines 397). † This shows that he believed that blacks must use their opportunities to better themselves rather than focusing on the negative aspects of life. Washington also said, â€Å"In our humble way, we shall stand by you with a devotion that no foreigner can approach, ready to lay down our lives, if need be, in defense of yours, interlacing our industrial, commercial, civil, and religious life with yours in a way that shall make the interests of both races one (Hines 397). † Washington believed that by blacks staying in their positions and working diligently, blacks would eventually be accepted by whites. He believed in blacks about remaining devoted to the white race rather than rising against it. By advocating working within the confines of white society rather than rising in opposition against it, Washington promoted the safety of blacks during this time period. Washington pushed for gradual and deliberate social acceptance of blacks as they began assimilating to white culture. By gradually working towards being accepted, this kept the opposition of whites to a minimum. As long as whites viewed blacks as harmless, blacks were able to continue growing and improving themselves. â€Å"The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing,† said Washington (Hines 398). Washington believed that it is impossible to force someone to accept one another; rather one must make people want to accept them. Washington’s goal was not to force blacks into the upper class society, but to gradually encourage their acceptance and possibly an eventual rise in social stature. Despite the many positive and beneficial aspects of Washington’s view of Black Nationalism, there were many drawbacks that hindered the widespread acceptance of his ideology. He believed in maintaining the lower class position of blacks. By saying that all blacks should work in menial labor, he limited the opportunities for black people to strive for anything more. Rather than encouraging and uplifting blacks in believing that they could do anything they wanted to, Washington believed that blacks should remain content in their lower class state. Considering that Washington, a part white and black man, was the spokesperson for the race, he was stating to whites that he was the exception rather than the rule. Whites were able to justify his leadership and politics by attributing his success to his white ancestry. Whites were pleased with Washington’s stance that blacks should stay with basic tasks for a number of reasons. Typically, these jobs were usually lower paying and had terrible working conditions. These jobs were considered lower class labor, and the majority of whites, with the exception of poor whites, were not interested in pursuing these jobs. The lack of competition made it acceptable to the majority of whites. If these jobs were considered â€Å"black jobs† then it was fine for blacks to work in these fields. During this time period, the category of â€Å"black jobs† became redefined to these positions. Whites were moving out of these fields at the same point that blacks were striving to move up in their job status, therefore it was okay for blacks to replace these whites since it did not adversely affect them. Also Washington constantly advocated the point that blacks should work long and hard to â€Å"prove† their worth to whites. He offers a reconsideration of what it means to be black (Owens, par. 2). However, whites were never accepting of blacks. It was almost impossible for blacks to gain acceptance by simply showing their hard work during a time period where they were consistently looked down upon. Washington also believed that blacks must remain passive in their attempts to improve life. While whites used methods such as brute force and intimidation to keep blacks down, Washington believed in turning the other cheek rather than encouraging conflict. At this time period, it would have been almost impossible for blacks to gain any amount of social standing by continuing this passive ideal. As the spokesperson for the black race, Booker T. Washington presented various and influential ideas about Black Nationalism in America. Many of his ideas were beneficial to the black race at the time, such as the advocating of skills and trades, however, other ideas, such as his advocacy for maintaining the social position of blacks and non-confrontation, were not effective in improving Black Nationalism. Washington principles revolved around blacks working as shopkeepers, farmers, and other low-skilled professions. He believed, â€Å"On such a foundation as this will grow habits of thrift, a love of work, economy, ownership of property, bank accounts. Out of it in the future will grow practical education, professional education, and positions of public responsibility. Out of it will grow moral and religious strength. Out of it will grow wealth from which alone can come leisure and the opportunity for the enjoyment of literature and the fine arts (Hine 371). † In stark contrast to this, DuBois believed, â€Å"If my own city of Atlanta had offered it to-day the choice between 500 Negro college graduates – forceful, busy, ambitious men of property and self respect – and 500 black cringing vagrants and criminals, the popular vote in the favor of the criminals would be simply overwhelming. Why? Because they want Negro crime? No, not that they fear Negro crime less, but that they fear Negro ambition and success more. They can deal crime by chain gang and lynch law, or at least they think they can, but the South can conceive neither machinery nor place for the educated, self-reliant, self-assertive black man (Hine 371). † W. E. B. DuBois believed in the opposite of what Washington believed. Instead of believing that the way for blacks to succeed was within industry, DuBois believed it lied not within training but within educating. DuBois believed that the learning that blacks received should go beyond training for work or learning a skill. He believed that it was necessary for blacks to gain an education that would allow them to develop and grow mentally. He mentioned that â€Å"the function of the Negro college, then, is clear, it must maintain standards of popular education, it must seek the social regeneration of the Negro, and it must help in the solution of problems of race contact and cooperation. And finally, beyond all this, it must develop men (Hine 370-71). † By receiving an education, blacks would then become better men and could be able to lead the black race. By having large numbers of educated blacks leading the race, DuBois felt that this was the best way to end racism. In his ideology DuBois felt that there would be a group of blacks that would lead blacks to prosperity, social acceptance and bring about the end of slavery. He characterized this group of people as the â€Å"talented tenth† (Hine 401). In other words, the most educated and best suited 10 percent of the black population would be used to lead the black race as a whole. He affirms to that â€Å"work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence. Education must not simply teach work – it must teach Life. The talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among people. No others can do this work, and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men† (Hine 401). This statement exemplifies DuBois’ strong belief in an elite group of back men how will arise to lead a deprived race into a society that will accept and acknowledge their talents, skills, and wisdom. While advocating for the best of the black race to lead the rest of the black race, DuBois also had different opinions on how to confront racism. Instead of trying to circumvent racism DuBois wanted to attack it, becoming somewhat of a militant leader (Maddox, par.3). He did not promote settling for meager jobs, he wanted to attack discrimination in all forms including disenfranchisement and Jim Crow laws. DuBois was not willing to wait for whites to give blacks their rights. Also DuBois was not tolerant toward blacks who were not willing to fight for their rights. With the ideology that DuBois adopted, there were many positive aspects that he brought to the idea of Black Nationalism. Education is one of the most important aspects that DuBois stressed in his ideology. DuBois believed that blacks could not hope to eclipse their position in life without an education. With this belief he encouraged blacks to go to numerous colleges and universities in order to receive an education. Another positive aspect that DuBois came to push with Black Nationalism was the view that white racism should be confronted. Throughout this time period, white racism was overt and abundantly clear for what it was, however, blacks were not in a position to confront this. Du Bois believed in encouraging blacks to stand up for their rights and for the elite â€Å"talented tenth† to show whites that they were not to be viewed as unrefined barbarians. DuBois believed that whites were more than happy to have blacks working for them. With whites perfectly content to allow blacks to work under them in a neo-form of slavery the same social position that blacks were in would continue to exist without change. With the knowledge that racism would not change unless it was directly confronted, DuBois began to believe in this ideology of confrontation. One of the greatest contributions that DuBois presented was his idea of higher education. He believed that it was essential for blacks to gain a deeper theological education, rather than the basic skilled education. DuBois believed it was important to gain this education in order to gain status of the â€Å"talented tenth. † In his ideals, DuBois believed that it was important that blacks did not need to be lead by one spokesperson such as Washington, but instead could be led by intelligent, resourceful, educated black Americans. Although he had an idea of a more talented group of people, these lines were flexible and able to be changed with new faces of black America. He understood the need to have different and multiple representations, rather than one blanketed statement about black Americans that would encourage misrepresentation and stereotypes. While there were many positive aspects of the ideology that DuBois put forth, there were also some problems. Dubois’ idea of a select group of black intellectuals whose purpose would be to â€Å"set out to organize an aggressive effort to secure the rights of black citizens† is a very potent idea, however, it becomes problematic when one places this enormous responsibility in the hands of such a small group of individuals (Hine 401). The fact that he felt that merely ten percent of the black population would be qualified to lead the struggle for black equality, explained earlier, has its importance. Nevertheless, this idea has some absurdness to it. To put the burden of trying to correct the discriminative situation that was accruing at the time on purely ten percent of the black population could be strenuous on that particular group. Therefore, instead of progression within the movement it would possibly cause a regression within the movement and deter any success that could accrue. This ten percent of black intellectual leaders should not focus on wrestling the task of establishing equal civil liberties for blacks on there own. Instead, they should focus on teaching the remaining ninety percent of the black population to lead as well. By accomplishing this task the black race would not have to rely merely on a few group of individual to fight the struggle for their liberation into a society of equality. Alternatively, many black people will have the ability to lead their own struggle in their particular area of the nation. In contrast to Booker T. Washington’s passive attitude to accomplish black equality, W. E. B. DuBois, on the other hand, had a more aggressive attitude. DuBois felt that to achieve the black community’s goal of eliminating racism the black community should attack it head on. Unlike Washington’s idea of simply sitting back and let the White community slowly accept the black people and recognize them for their hard work, DuBois wanted to actively assert the black community into society swiftly and without prejudice. This tactic could pose to be over aggressive which would ultimately retract from what he wants to get accomplished. Some states, mostly northern states, would be able to tolerate this aggressive tactic and possibly even acknowledge the efforts of DuBois. However other states, particularly the southern states would find his aggressive method as offensive thereby diminishing the popularity of DuBois’ goal viewed by the white community. Another problem with Dubois’ idea on how to confront racism was that it did not take into consideration everybody’s economic standpoint. He believed that with the acquisition of a higher theological education rather than simple basic skills education, the black community will be able analyze the society in which they live and make informed decisions on how they would like to live instead of simply accepting their position in which society had prepared for them. However, for many black to acquire that theological education in that time was quite challenging because not every black person or family could afford to pay for that higher education. To remedy these situation free educational institutions could be established, but somewhere down the line the expense to run the school would become overwhelming without financial support from the state. The black institutions would have extreme difficulty obtaining financial support from a predominantly white state who felt that they had already made a place for the black race. Although both Booker T. Washington and W. E. B Dubois made great contributions to the idea of Black Nationalism, their strategies would be questioned and would also be met with much objection. The major obstacle they faced in their articulation of a Black Nationalist ideology was opposition from each other. Their contrasting up-bringing allowed them to have different views and opinions of society. It also helped in forming their attitude of how to go about expressing their Black Nationalistic ideology. Washington experience as a child made him more passive. â€Å"His childhood was one of privation, poverty, slavery and back-breaking work† (Yankowitz par. 1). Growing up as a slave he learned to be more submissive and accepting of things presented to him and therefore he felt that the opportunity for black people to succeed will come slowly with obedience and serenity. DuBois, however, up-bringing made him have a more forward outlook on society and life in general. Unlike most blacks living in the United States, â€Å"Du Bois had grown up with more privileges and advantages†¦He had suffered neither severe economic hardship nor repeated encounters with blatant racism† (â€Å"W.E. B Dubois†, par 4). Because he grew up in a well-to-do setting he learned to have a more assertive personality resulting in his aggressive approach to confront racism. In a statement made at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, Booker T. Washington alludes to his opposition of the tactics utilized by W. E. B DuBois by mentioning that â€Å"the wisest among [his] race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hine 396). This statement affirms that if one is to be aggressive in their manner to acquire equality in the society in which they live, then it would surly lead to the demise of their efforts. The statement can greatly be associated with DuBois’ methods of articulating Black Nationalism ideology. More opposition to Washington’s conciliatory stance on racial matters stemmed from William Monroe Trotter, an educated Harvard editor of the Boston Guardian, who became the most â€Å"vociferous† critic of Washington (Hine 399). Trotter referred to Washington as â€Å"the Great Traitor, the Benedict Arnold of the Negro Race, and Pope Washington† which hardly bothered Washington. However the nicknames did, along with many argumentative articles that he wrote, cause unsettling skeptics about Washington’s techniques Similarly, Booker T. Washington’s method of articulating Black Nationalism ideology contradicted W. E. B Dubois. In his book entitled The Souls of Black Folk, Dubois remarks that â€Å"Mr. Washington distinctly asks that black people give up, at least for the present three things, – First, political power, Second, insistence on civil rights, Third, higher education of Negro youth, – and concentrate all their energies on industrial education, the accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South† (Hine 396). It revealed that Washington did not want black people to expect too much but should greet menial labor as a step in the struggle for progress. DuBois greatly detested this notion and preferred the assertive strategy which he felt to be the most effective way to ensure progress. Though Booker T. Washington and W. E. B DuBois had conflicting ideas of Black Nationalism ideology, the two presented ideas that lasted and effect the ideas of future black nationalist. Works Cited America’s Story from America’s Libraries. 2006. The Library of Congress. 3 Oct. 2006 . â€Å"Booker T. Washington. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Nov 2006, 07:24 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Nov 2006 . Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, & Stanley Harrold. The American Odyssey: Volume Two. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, 3rd edition 2005. Maddox, Alton H. , â€Å"The untold story of the Civil Rights Movement – Part I. † New York Amsterdam News 96. 44 (2005): 12-14. â€Å"W. E. B Dubois. † MSN Encarta, The Online Encyclopedia. 2006. 6 Oct. 2006 . Owen, Williams R. â€Å"Old Negro, New Negro. † Rev. of The Education of Booker T. Washington: American Democracy & the Idea of Race Relations, by Michael Rudolph West. Black Issues Book Review May 2006: 45 Yankowitz, Donna. â€Å"Booker T. Washington. † 2006. 6 Oct. 2006 .

Drunk Driving Essay

Don’t you want to make sure your life is as safe as possible without the convicted reckless driving criminals on the road? People convicted of drunk driving should be imprisoned on the first offense to ensure this safety of others. These people are a danger to our society, and drunk drivers need to be stopped. Imprisoning the intoxicated driver on the first offense would lower the deaths and injuries of the innocent people who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Drunk Driving is called DWI or DUI, â€Å"Driving While Intoxicated† or â€Å"Driving under the Influence†. The crime of drunk driving is usually a misdemeanor, but depending on the number of prior drunk driving convictions someone may have, it can also be a felony. Drinking and then driving have resulted in thousands of road accidents, injuries and deaths. A mandatory jail sentence for convicted offenders would cause people to seriously consider the bottom line of drinking and driving. T aking a serious civil approach to the offense would cause friends and family to view drinking and driving as completely offensive. It would add a risk of job loss, public humiliation and jail time to the risks of injury, and death. It is well known that drinking affects an individual’s way of thinking and doing things. When drunk, it is almost impossible to conduct duties in a normal way compared to when one is not drunk. Evidence shows that a number of road accidents are caused by careless drivers who drive when drunk. Although the cause of the accident may not be the fault of the drunk driver, the situation worsens because the drunk driver does not manage to control the motion of the vehicle (Walters, 2009). To ensure that the society lives in an environment that is healthy towards accidents, drunk drivers should go to prison when found guilty (Rebik, 2010). People who drive intoxicated most likely have done it before and will do it again. Out of the 900,000 people arrested each year that are convicted of a DUI, one third of them were repeated offenders (Fell, 2004). An average of people who drink and drive have done it eighty times before their first arrest, and some even more (â€Å"Morbidity and Mortality†). Since one arrest occurs in every 772 drunk driving incidents, many think they a re just lucky because they haven’t gotten caught yet (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2002). Even though drunk drivers might not get caught by the law, they’ll most likely suffer injury or death by making the bad decision of drinking  and driving because one in three people will be in a crash caused by a drunk driver in their lifetime (NTSA, 2001). If they were imprisoned on their first offense, there would be no recurring offenders around to make the same mistake over and over again. It would deter many from drunk driving and discourage many from committing this crime. Imprisoning them would also remove them from the streets so they are doing the same thing and hurting others. Drunk drivers are most likely to commit the crime again, so they deserve to be imprisoned on their first offense to ensure the protection and save lives of others, especially children’s. Most kids don’t have the choice to not ride with the driver because it is usually an adult or parent driving. That’s unfair to put the kid’s lives in danger. Many children are affe cted by people drinking and driving. Seventeen percent of traffic deaths with children involved an alcohol impaired driver and 61% of those children were riding with them (Macgregor & Collins, 2011). Nobody should have to go through the pain of losing a child, especially under the circumstances of a drunk driving accident. The convicted drunk drivers being put away would relieve parents so they wouldn’t have to worry as much about drunk drivers adding a risk to their kid’s lives. The death and injury rate would also decrease dramatically and save lives of many innocent children who have been put in that terrible situation. Drunk driving is a direct result of bad decisions and not an â€Å"accident.† It is completely preventable. If the punishment was harsher than just having a license suspension and treatment classes, more people would think more about what they are actually doing. Drunk drivers being imprisoned would have to live with the humiliation and disappointment for being in jail because of making a careless mistake. People would feel worse and think twice because driving drunk makes them a criminal. They would then realize there would be more at stake since drunk driving is a crime and is the most frequently committed offense in America (â€Å"The High Cost†, 2012). Drunk drivers being imprisoned on their first offense would reduce the amount of injury, death, and damage to others. If people were imprisoned on their first drunk driving offense, it would make people more hesitant about making that careless decision. Evidence suggests that most road accidents are caused by drunk drivers who lose control when driving. Drivers who cause accidents regret on the actions and plead that they will not repeat their actions. In the first place, drivers know that  driving while drunk is offense and may cause an accident. This is a clear indication that they willingly break the law already knowing the consequence they may get. (Richardson & Thompson, 2008). To ensure that the society lives in an environment that is healthy towards accidents, drunk drivers should go to prison when found guilty, (Rebik, 2010). It might look injustice to imprison a driver when caught in the first time, but the reality is that imprisonment helps drivers reform. This reduces the occurrence of accidents that kill innocent people. There should be no mercy when charging criminals simply because they commit their offense in an ignorance manner (Richardson & Thompson, 2008). Protecting law is an important thing that most people ignore but find themselves in a fixed when law is against them. Unless drivers are imprisoned for the offense they commit, cases of accidents caused by drunk drivers won’t reduce. It is clear that they will increase causing more deaths and destruction of properties (Walters, 2009). Driving when drunk is dangerous to human life as well as the environment at large. Drivers who may drive drunk, argue that they have the right to drink and or consume alcohol. Although each and every person has the freedom to do what he wants, it should also be considered that the actions should not violate rights of other people or be harmful to anyone and anything around you. No one is prohibited drinking provided he, or she has turned the age of 21. Law prohibits driving when drunk because it may cause an accident killing people who are innocent. To avoid situations like this, it is advisable to imprison drivers who drive under the influence. Some may argue that they have control of their drinking habits, but to some point alcohol affects the response of the human body. It affects the control ability that is important when driving thus drunk drivers may lose their control and cause accidents (Durkin et al., (2008). It is argued that humans are to error and that they are subjected to mistakes. If the argument is based on that, drivers argue that imprisonment should not be done when the offense is made on the first situation. They say that forgiveness should work and warning given to those who commit offense in their first situation. Supporters of drinking and driving argue that they know their drinking habits and have drinking limits. This is not a justification as to why drivers should drink and drive. It should be remembered th at when a driver starts driving, he should take care of the lives he carries by ways of  driving in a careful manner (Richardson & Thompson, 2008). All people have equal opportunity when it comes to life and drunk drivers should not ruin that for anyone. Drunk driving is completely preventable if you imprison first offenders to catch other people’s attention. Imprisonment is the best form of prevention and rehabilitation for any sort of act involving drinking and driving; it’d make people realize their mistakes. Imprisoning people on the first offense for drunk driving would ensure the safety of others and to save the lives of many people because in most cases, drunk drivers are predicted to drive drunk again. Citations Drunk Driving Statistics. (2008). Retrieved from, http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html, on October 30, 2012 Durkin, Keith F.; Wolfe, Scott E.; May, Ross W. (2008). Social Bond Theory and Drunk Driving in a Sample of College Students. College Student Journal, Vol. 41, No. 3.Lankford, Ronnie. â€Å"Eliminating Drunk Driving Creates Repressive Laws.† Opposing Viewpoints Research Center. (2007)Gale. Gateway Community College Lib. Retrieved from, http://findgalegroup.com/ovrc, on October 30, 2012 Rebik, D. (2010). Drunk Drivers Who Kill Could Face Longer Jail Sentences. Retrieved from, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/kcpq-092810-duilaws,0,5507117.story, on October 30, 2012 Richardson, K., Thompson, K. M. (2008). Drinking and Driving. Journal of College Student Development Volume 49, Number 5, pp. 497-508 10. Doi:353/csd.0.0034 Traffic safety facts. In (2009). (p. 6). DC: US Department of Transpotation. Retrieved from, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811385 .pdf, on October 30, 2012 Walters, S. (2009). First drunken driving offense shouldn’t be crime, says Van Hollen. (p. 1). Wisconsin: Journal Sentinel Inc. Retrieved from, http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/37748539.html, on October 30, 2012