Goals of Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Goals of Punishment - Essay Example Among these have been punishments aimed at shaming individuals into avoiding to commit crimes which they had committed before (Word, 2007). An example of these shaming punishments has been the requirement for first time DUI offenders to wear a yellow license plate when they are on suspension. This requirement has ensured that the rates of imprisonment for DUI offenders, which takes a huge chunk off state budgets, have been reduced. It has been found that this is the most cost effective way for the achievement of deterrence as well as the satisfaction for the demands of retribution.While this requirement had been legislated in the 1960s; it was rarely used until the state of Ohio declared it mandatory for all those found committing the DUI offense. One would say that this is a reasonable punishment because it achieves the goal of punishing the individual through being exposed to the public throughout his or her suspension period. The shame derived from this exposure ensures that the individual involved does not repeat the same offense. In fact, the fear of going through the same experience for a second time will act as deterrence from committing future offenses. This measure has seen a level of success in the last few years as seen through the reduction of the number of r estricted number plates from over 10000 in the first year of it implementation to 5270 a year later. In the New York area of Bronx, the most frequently used method of deterrence to crime is the stop and frisk method. This is the case where police officers stop anyone whom they suspect of having criminal intentions and searching them. Despite the good intentions that were intended when this practice was instituted, it has come to be extremely unpopular with the residents, especially those from minority groups. Statistics show that while African Americans only make up 23% of New Yorkers, they are the victims of 53% of the stop and

Literature and culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Literature and culture - Research Paper Example The theme affects and is affected by the motive of the writer; thus one can say that the end a writer seeks to attain is what forms the theme of the literary work. One can imagine that there have been so many ends that have been achieved by writers throug literature. The theme therefore has an effect on the extent to which one can market his or her books to readers. Background of Authors Leon Uris was born in the United States and he moved to Israel after serving in the US Marine and in Israel, he worked as a journalist and reporter (Lambert 50). In a biography, Nadel (93) examined that Uris sought to revive his Jewish identity and that is what made him take on research into the founding of the State of Israel and most of those findings influenced his book, Exodus. Khaled Hosseini on the other hand was born in Afghanistan to an aristocratic Pusthun family around the time that the protagonist of his Kite Runner, Amir was born. Hosseini’s family had to leave Afghanistan for Euro pe during the Soviet invasion. They returned briefly and then went back to the United States where he has lived to this very day (Hosseini Personal Website) This therefore suggests that both writers had an inherent interest in the history of their nations and they were therefore influenced by the history and culture of their countries. Elements of History & Non-Fiction in Theme The narrations employed in the works of these authors make a person wonder if the work was actually non-fiction or fiction. Leon Uris states in the opening page that â€Å"Many events in The Exodus are a matter of history and public records. Many of the scenes were created around historical incidents and used as a backdrop for the purpose of fiction† (Uris 1). This shows evidence that Uris uses characters of fiction to portray elements of the founding of the nation of Israel, its culture and history through fiction and art. The hint that Hosseini gives in his book about the role of history in his narra tion is found in the opening statement he makes in Kite Runner saying â€Å"I became what I am today at the age of twelve on a frigid overcast day, in the Winter of 1975†¦ that was a long time ago but it is wrong what they say about the past I’ve heard, about how you bury it because it claws its way out† (K. Hosseini 4). This suggests that Hosseini was using elements of narration to present a historical point of view of his people and community. Afghanistan & Israel through the Writers Khalid Hosseini & Leon Uris both bring out the historical injustices meted out to their peoples through the individual experiences of their characters to express the collective suffering and elements of their peoples’ history and culture. This is done through fast paced narrations and very rigourous and clear pictures presented by these writers. In Kite Runner, Hosseini presents Amir as a young member of the well-to-do Pushtun family who has all the privileges and luxuries an d is seen to be righteous and innocent. Amir’s father, Baba is presented as a very rich aristocratic Pushtun merchant who was ready to face to advancing Soviets with courage. On the other hand, Hassan and his father, the

Stress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Stress - Essay Example In general, stress comes in numerous forms. Working individuals may experience work-related stress whereas other people may have to go through physical stress related to illness or hormonal changes and emotional stress such as grievance due to the death or loss of a special someone. Stressors are commonly classified as external or internal. (Ward et al., 2003) External stressors may come from extreme physical condition like chronic pain and hot or cold temperatures as well as stressful psychological environments caused by poor working environment or being in an abusive relationship. On the other hand, internal stressors can be related to physical abnormalities related to inflammation or infection. It can also be caused by psychological factors such as excessive worrying. Even though the role of emotional regulation between stress and hypertension remains unclear (Gerin et al., 2002), several studies show that negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and frustrations could increase the physiological stress which normally causes a person to experience hypertension. (Lawler et al., 1998; Miller et al., 1998) These internal or external stressors, regardless of whether the stress occurs over a short- or long-term period, could negatively affect people physically, mentally, and emotionally. Regardless of age, several studies show that a stressful condition could cause a person to experience a significant decrease in the performance of their declarative memory (Lupien et al., 1997; Kirschbaum et al., 1996; Newcomer et al., 1995) aside from the fact that it could increase a person’s risk of developing type II diabetes (Harris and White, 2007). Stress has also a huge impact on a person’s heart and circulation system especially among postmenopausal women. (Kivimà ¤ki et al., 2002; Bairey Merz et al., 1998) In some cases, stress causes a person to experience

Buying a home vs renting a home Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Buying a home vs renting a home - Research Paper Example Whether one decides to purchase or rent a place, a person has to be very smart to prevent any losses. However, if a person intends to stay for long, buying a house proves to be cheaper and better compared to renting a house. The issue of buying or renting a house is complex and there are many factors which affect ones choice and buying is a suitable option in cases where an individual wishes to stay for a long period at one place. Analyzing one’s current financial position and future prospects is perhaps the most important factor that impacts the decision of buying or renting a house. A person needs to think and act wisely before coming up with a conclusion. He must also know that whatever his decision is he should keep in mind the size of the place and the rent or cost which is asked for it. So, if he is looking forward to buying a house he will have to take mortgage into account and other expenditures which accompany it. When thinking about buying a place he should know that he is building equity. Furthermore, one should know what to do when property prices rise and when they lower. Hence, an awareness of the prevalent market rate is an excellent idea. And most importantly whether one rents or buys a place, he needs to keep in mind his financial situation and then make his decision (Quealy, and Archie np). Furthermore, other factors affecting the decision must also be considered. Some of these factors include how quickly the prices of houses rise and how fast the rents are going to rise in the future. Also one’s decision depends on how long he plans to stay in the house which he is willing to rent out. In order to make a decision, quite a lot depends on the customer comparing the prices of the rent and that of the cost of actually buying the house. Ideally, if he intends to stay in the same house for more than 6 years, it is advisable to buy a property instead of

The law of property task--tracing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The law of property task--tracing - Essay Example What this means is that, in equity, the remedy of tracing awards a proprietary right in the property to the beneficiary, so that he may be given priority in recovering it in case the defendant goes bankrupt, provided his property still exists and is distinguishable from the bankrupt individual’s other assets. This proprietary nature of the right was affirmed in Foskett v McKeown (2000). Tracing at law is much more restrictive as compared to tracing in equity as the beneficiary is not allowed to claim title to any additions in the value of the property that it may have acquired since the breach of trust and recovering the property may be close to impossible if it was mixed with another. In equity, tracing can lead to the property even if it is mixed and recover it for the wronged beneficiary, which allots great power in the hands of those who have been deprived. Moreover, the differences between tracing at law and equity are considered by some commentators as separate remedies altogether instead of limbs of the same principle. It is imperative to consider both regimes, and my discussion would reflect both the common law remedy and the remedy in equity. Tracing at Law At common law, any individual with a legal title in property may be able to resort to tracing in order to recover it. Thus, this legal title, may be traced all the way to the newest form the property has taken after exchanging hands (for e.g where a defendant has bought a watch with the original property, cash). This phenomenon was described as a matter of hardnosed property rights and distinguished from an action in damages2, hence, any identifiable property was considered traceable and returned to the original beneficiary. Thus, the legal title is traced from one person to all successive individuals that came along the way until finally reaching the person against whom the action could proceed, providing a means to the remedy (Trustee of the property of FC Jones v Jones [1996]). In this way , it is regarded by the courts not as a remedy unto itself but as a means to a remedy, as seen in Banque Belge pour L'Etranger v. Hambrouck [1921]3. The first step then to a successful tracing action is to identify the defendant who is now in possession of the property. In the above case, where money was being traced, the defendant was identified as the fraudulent cashier who had deposited the money in a bank and used it to pay for his expenses. It was held that the cash even though it had the potential of being mixed with other funds, was identifiable in the account and could be recovered by Banque Belge. Once the defendant is identified, the next step is to proceed with a remedy which could be one of the following depending on the form of property being traced. If the property in question, as in the above case of Hambrouck, pertains to funds, then an action to recover ‘money had and received’ may be brought (Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale [1991])4. In Karpnale, a compulsive gambler come partner of a law firm was eventually caught drawing money for gambling purposes from the company account. The money was traced to the gambling club which had exchanged it with chips. The House of Lords found that the money, although received in good faith, was recoverable by the solicitors from the gambling club which was presently in possession of it. There was also a failure of consideration observed at the hands of the gambling club

Case study discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Case study discussion - Essay Example In this regard, the assets, interests, and rights of the project are basically held as the secondary security or act as the collateral. Therefore, in any case the forecasted cash flow from the project does not sustain the project, there is high risk exposure to debt risks though the failure of the projects may be attributed to many factors like the interest rates, business risks, economic situation like inflation and the type of the shareholders (Gatti, 2013). In the case of Autopistas del Centro, the financial recession hit the project quite since most of the projected cash flow had been forecasted prior to the great financial crisis of 2008 (Lubian, 2015). Therefore, the only option it to sell the project to new owners since the shareholders are reluctant to go into their pockets and revive the project once. Therefore, it is imperative to identify some of the factors that must be considered when pricing the project so as to make sure both the buyers and sellers are satisfied. Besides, the head of the projects is deeply concerned about the best approach that can be used to make sure that the shareholders are satisfied with the handing over of the project to the new owners. Inflation is one of the critical issues that must be looked into when pricing a project to the new owners. The implication is that inflation has the potential to increase the original estimates of the construction costs (Esty, 2014). Usually, the inflation rates are put into consideration when the project is at the design stage but future changes in the inflation rates may affect the original estimated construction costs and this will have a huge effect on the final pricing of the project (Gatti, 2013). Therefore, when pricing the project, it would be important to look at the inflation rates in Spain, as well as Europe in general. In 2009, the CFO of AC, Martinez saw the need to revise the status of the project finance under different circumstances under which the

Antitrust practices Essay Example for Free

Antitrust practices Essay Antitrust practices are practices carried on by businesses that end up destroying perfect competition in the market. Antitrust laws are laws prepared to seek and promote healthy market competition by preventing anti-competitive practices by companies. Some of the illegal practices that constitute to antitrust behavior include corporate mergers, monopolies and price fixing conspiracies (Bailey, 2010). The Clayton Act of 1914 was passed by the U.S Congress. It was an antitrust law that was amended to stop and prevent practices that led to unhealthy competition in the market. The Clayton Act was amended in order to complement an earlier version of the antitrust law referred to as the Sherman antitrust Act of 1980. This was a federal law that sought to prevent practices that were harmful to consumers such as cartels, monopolies and other unfair business practices (California Association of REALTORS, 2005). Google Company One of the recent firms to be investigated for antitrust behavior is Google Company that leads the online searching industry. According to Weiss (2014), the firm recently was being investigated by Competition Commission of India (CCI) for claims that it abused its dominance in the online search engine industry by mainly promoting its own services over those of its rivals. This reason is considered to create unhealthy competition in the business as the search engine company dominates its rivals in what is considered almost a monopolistic market. Antitrust behavior brings about both pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs. Since it damages healthy competition in the market, monopolies can result and this has adverse effects to the prices of commodities. The products end up becoming costly and expensive for the customers and, therefore, affecting the society negatively (Bailey, 2010). On the other hand, antitrust behavior leads to the output of products falling below the market competitive le vel and this is mainly witnessed in monopolistic markets. Then again, the antitrust practices can be costly for any company that has engaged in them since if investigations prove that the company is guilty of the said acts then heavy penalties can be imposed on them. Furthermore, this can ruin the reputation of any company and, therefore, ending up losing its customers (Bailey, 2010). Monopolies and  Oligopolies Monopolies and oligopolies are not always good for the society. Their presence in any market simply means they have all the power to control the prices of their products and services. This is not favorable to the customers since prices can always go up any time especially when the demand for certain commodities is high. One good example of an oligopoly is the Coca Cola and Pepsi Companies. These are the world’s largest beverage companies and demand for their products is never decreasing. However, these two companies represent a market with few suppliers while the consumers are many. They have all the power to dictate their products’ prices and the consumers have no power whatsoever (Hovenkamp, 2011). On the other hand, some government monopolies can be considered beneficial to the members of the society. Many governments in the current world control the production and supply of electricity and other forms of energy. This is useful because the governments aim at providin g such services to the citizens at affordable prices and across the countries. It is the responsibility of the government to enhance infrastructure development in the country and, therefore, running such sectors of the economy can be beneficial to consumers. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to point out that antitrust practices are unwanted behaviors since they destroy healthy competition among businesses. However, the law is strict on companies that engage in these practices and heavy penalties can be imposed on them. Antitrust practices include price fixing, corporate mergers and creation of monopolies (Reeves, 2010).