Psychedelic Drugs (aka Psychedelics) Essay -- essays research papers

Psychedelic Drugs (aka Psychedelics) Introduction: Throughout human history people have sought experiences that somehow transcend every day life. Some sort of wisdom that might progress their knowledge of self and of the world that they live in. For some reason they believed that the tangible world just could not be all there is to life. Some believed in a greater force that controlled them, some believed of invisible beings that influenced their lives, some of an actual other world that paralleled their own. Many of these people also believed that it was possible to catch a glimpse of these forces, beings, or worlds through a variety of means that propel individuals into altered states of consciousness. These techniques include meditation, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, and (what will be discussed here) psychoactive drugs, more specifically psychedelic drugs. Although in the modern world such drugs have developed an almost taboo status, it is impossible to ignore the tales of enlightenment reported by ancient cultures and even those rebels that use such drugs illegally today. While the American government has been one of the main influences on today’s society’s negative attitudes towards psychedelic drugs, they have granted some scientist and psychologists permission to experiment with such agents, and despite the controversy and varying results there seem to be many positive uses of psychedelic agents. These positive uses and the research that has been directed toward these uses will be reviewed in the following, as well as a brief history of psychedelic drugs. History:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Native Americans are probably the people most known for their use of psychedelic drugs. Being a very religious people, their entire society revolved around the spirit world, and some believed that access to this world was possible by eating certain plants that were abundant in their surroundings. In what are now Mexico and the Southwestern United States, tribes familiarized themselves with mescaline, the active ingredient in the peyote cactus. Another drug that was used by tribes in these and many other areas was psilocybin, the active hallucinogenic ingredient of the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana and other psilocybe and conocybe species that grow on the pacific coast of North, South, and Central America. Ritual use of psilocybin and mesca... ... research the government has allowed scientists and psychologists, there have been amazing discoveries of the capacities of these drugs. It has been proven that they are able to extend psychotherapy’s view of the human mind, they are able to promote massive personality changes, and to enhance the learning and problem solving experience. It has even been suggested that psychedelics are able to enhance any aspect of mental functioning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One must look beyond the stereotypes that psychedelics have earned in the twentieth century, and also modern science, that presupposes that any thing that cannot be explained within its own contexts either does not exist or is but a fanciful idea. However, the realm of psychedelics is uncharted area, and when dealing with such experimental substances, such as these psychedelic agents, one must proceed with caution, as was mentioned earlier the agents are powerful tools and can be used with skill or reckless abandon, and therefore can yield positive responses or deadly consequences. If used with care psychedelics will allow many psychologists and patients to embark on a perhaps endless journey of self-discovery.

Should the Chinese Government Ban the Internet Censorship?

Qing Yuan ESL114 Section G Ryan Salvador May 3, 2012 Should the Chinese government ban the internet censorship? Since the birth of internet, people have been bombarded with different kind of information every day. Internet is a network that connects the data of different private computer networks and organizational computer groups from people or organizations around the world (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). As a result, people are looking forward to having access to any kind of websites of their interest, and receiving the latest information about what is happening around their countries or around the world.However, things cannot be as perfect as expected. It is noticed by many people that many countries have set barriers to the internet in their own areas. China, which has the largest population of web users among the world, has created the most advanced surveillance system for internet monitoring (Rohde, 2011). The system is known as â€Å"Great Firewall†Ã¢â‚¬â€also called â €Å"the Golden Shield Project†, and is designed to sift out pornography and commercial frauds, but simultaneously blocks certain search terms for the government’s own purposes (McDonald, 2012).However, nobody is satisfied to be a frog in a well which can only perceive scenario above the wellhead but nothing beyond. So the internet censorship has provoked a fierce controversy in the society. Many people including some groups of experts argue for humans’ equal rights to know true and latest resources of information around them. The Chinese government should no longer conduct their censorship program because every person has the right and freedom to know what is going on around them.If the Chinese government insists on this project, people would be trapped in a vicious cycle because the continuity of information blocks would affect the next generation which doubles its effect on people’s ignorance and it would do nothing but fool its own people. First, in Ch ina, people’s words online are carefully inspected which means people do not have the freedom to say what they want, but rather only what are permitted by the Chinese government.According to a study by the Language Technologies Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, more than 16 percent of all messages which are posted by web users in China are considered â€Å"unqualified† and get deleted (McDonald, 2012). The Chinese government explained to the media that the â€Å"Great Firewall† sifted out words or names that it evaluates as politically odorous. However, due to the matter of fact, it is not that reasonable, but rather private contains emotions of the government.For example, Sina Weibo, a most popular micro blogging site in China whose users surpassed 300 million, is required to inspect those bloggers whose have more than 100,000 followers (McDonald, 2012). If there are any posts that disobey the government’s rules must be deleted withi n five minutes. â€Å"295 terms with a high probability of being censored,† said the Carnegie Mellon team. So words like â€Å"Tibet†, â€Å"Dalai Lama†, â€Å"Ai Weiwei† (outspoken artist), â€Å"Liu Xiaobo† (imprisoned Nobel laureate), and even â€Å"Egypt†, â€Å"Jon Huntsman† (the former American ambassador), and â€Å"Playboy† (the magazine), etc. are banned (McDonald, 2012).As a result, some people have invented some subversive lexicons to refer to the words prohibited such as using â€Å"grass-mud horse† to replace a four-letter word of obscenity, using â€Å"river crab† to replace â€Å"harmony† which is also banned because it was used to refer to websites deletion by the government, and using phrase â€Å"Buying soy sauce† to indicate someone who is involved in scandals like embezzlement and bribery. The phrase â€Å"Buying soy sauce† came from the mouth of a government official who w as involved in a political scandal and wanted to show his innocence through the TV interview (McDonald, 2012).So if the government insists on such obvious and self-deceiving procedures, people would finally uncover the truth and thus lose trust in the government because many insightful people like who use VPN to â€Å"scale the wall (also a subversive word which means to browse foreign websites)† and have known some truth of some political issues or more people who are studying abroad where has no such internet-defending programs know the truth as well. Maybe this kind of methods worked before, but it would not work anymore as people are familiar and proficient in computer science.If the government stops their unacceptable programs right now, the status of the society will be much more stable, or the controversial would be more serious and finally trigger something unimaginable. Second, the Chinese government censors some websites which are considered vicious and unbeneficial to them, so they block websites just because they are not in government’s whitelist. In 2009, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology posted new regulations on domain management institutions and internet services providers because them want to have a deeper control over domain name registration (Hornby and Le, 2009).The Chinese government explained this is beneficial for an on-going anti-pornography program by creating a list of so called â€Å"whitelist. † However, this policy did not mention the treatment of overseas websites. In fact, foreign sites that have not registered could also be blocked such as Google's YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. The reason is these sites are thought politically sensitive and containing unreasonable schemes by the Chinese government (Hornby and Le, 2009).However, as many web users who used VPN to get access to foreign websites have already known that the websites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are highly reco gnized in the U. S. Many popular stars like NBA players often update their newest progress in preparing for the play-off on Twitter, which is often referred to as a trustworthy resource by sports channels like ABC and ESPN. Also, YouTube is even a normal educational tool in some world-famous universities as its sources are updated frequently and carefully (Hornby and Le, 2009).Many of the videos like the videos on cultural diversities and new-born social phenomena etc. are authoritative. They are often in the forms of a real interview with famous experts in the places where the issues happened like the case of Trayvon Martin, people can find many videos on YouTube which are interviews hold by some sociologists. As a result, blocking websites that the Chinese government considered vicious is detrimental to people’s development in learning advanced thoughts and real educational resources from foreign countries some of which are recognized as much more better in high-level educa tion than that of China.If the government continues to do things arbitrarily like this, people would lose trust in their government because they do have the ability to consider what kind of information is true and what kind of information is of plot. In conclusion, the Chinese government should stop their internet censorship because it really affects people’s common lives both in freedom of communication and education. The importance of relieve the inspection on internet is obvious and necessary. If the Chinese government moderates the censorship, people can obtain easier access to foreign resources.As people’s educational levels are higher and higher along with the rapidly-developing status of China’s economy, people are getting more insightful in absorbing more advanced technologies and methods. For instance, teachers can use foreign websites such as YouTube which has huge amount of authoritative resources in college education. Many people have realized that s tudents in China’s colleges know little about realities about some big issues around the world and also have big obstacles in English skills which are not beneficial to students’ development.Also, if students get such progress in education, there will be more opportunities for them to get jobs abroad which can not only enhance Chinese people’s skills in international business but also relieve the pressure in competition for jobs. Finally, stopping the internet censorship helps the Chinese government to win people’s trust and is also educationally, economically beneficial to a large number of Chinese people. References: Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n. d. ). Internet. Retrieved from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/internet Hornby L. and Le, Y. 2009, December 22). China to require internet domain name registration. Retrieved from http://www. reuters. com/article/2009/12/22/us-china-internet-idUSTRE5BL19620091222 McDonald, M. (2012, March 13). Wat ch your language! (in china, they really do). New York Times. Retrieved from http://rendezvous. blogs. nytimes. com/2012/03/13/watch-your-language-and-in-china-they-do/? ref=internetcensorship Rohde, D. (2011, November 18). China’s newest export: Internet censorship. Retrieved from http://blogs. reuters. com/david-rohde/2011/11/17/chinas-newest-export-internet-censorship/

Female Knights

There are plenty of fierce women who have battled their way through history in politics and warfare. Although from an academic standpoint women could not generally carry the title of knight, there were still many women in European history who were part of chivalric orders and performed the duties of female knights without the formal recognition. Key Takeaways: Female Knights During the Middle Ages, women could not be granted the title of Knight; it was reserved for men only. However, there were many chivalric orders of knighthood that admitted women and female warriors who performed the role.Documented stories of women—primarily high-born—prove that they donned armor and directed troop movement in times of war. Chivalric Orders of Europe The word knight was not just a job title, it was a social ranking. For a man to become a knight, he had to be formally knighted in a ceremony, or receive an accolade of knighthood for exceptional bravery or service, usually in battle. Because neither of these were typically the domains of women, it was rare for a women to carry the title of knight. However, in parts of Europe, there were chivalric orders of knighthood that were open to women. During the early medieval period, a group of devout Christian knights joined together to form the Knights Templar. Their mission was twofold: to protect European travelers on pilgrimage in the Holy Land, but also to carry out secret military operations.  When they finally took the time to write down a list of their rules, around 1129 C.E., their mandates mentioned a pre-existing practice of admitting women to the Knights Templar. In fact, women were permitted as part of the organization during its first 10 years of existence. Lorado / Getty Images A related group, the Teutonic Order, accepted women as Consorores, or Sisters. Their role was an auxiliary one, often related to support and hospital services during times of war, including on the battlefield. In the mid-12th century, Moorish invaders laid the town of Tortosa, Spain, under siege. Because the towns menfolk were already off at battle fighting on another front, it fell to the women of Tortosa to set up defenses. They dressed in mens clothing—which was certainly easier to fight in—picked up weapons, and held their town with an array of swords, farm implements, and hatchets. In the aftermath, Count Ramon Berenguer of Barcelona founded the Order of the Hatchet in their honor. Elias Ashmole wrote in 1672 that the count granted the women of Tortosa numerous privileges and immunities: He also ordained, that at all publick meetings, the  Women  should have precedence of the  Men; That they should be exempted from all Taxes; and that all the Apparel and Jewels, though of never so great value, left by their dead Husbands, should be their own. It is not known whether the women of the Order ever fought in any battles other than defending Tortosa. The group faded into obscurity as its members aged and died out. Women in Warfare During the Middle Ages, women were not raised for battle like their male counterparts, who typically trained for warfare from boyhood. However, that doesnt mean they didnt fight. There are numerous examples of women, both noble and lower-born, who defended their homes, their families, and their nations from attacking outside forces. Margaret of Anjou directed troops during the War of the Roses. Hulton Archive / Getty Images The eight-day siege of Jerusalem in 1187 relied on women for success. Nearly all of the citys fighting men had marched out of town three months earlier, for the Battle of Hattin, leaving Jerusalem unguarded but for a few hastily-knighted boys. The women, however, outnumbered men in the city by nearly 50 to 1, so when Balian, Baron of Ibelin, realized it was time to defend the walls against the invading army of Saladin, he enlisted the female citizens to get to work. Dr. Helena P. Schrader, Ph.D. in History from the University of Hamburg, says that Ibelin would have had to organize these untrained civilians into units, assigning them specific, focused tasks. ... whether it was defending a sector of the wall, putting out fires, or ensuring that the men and women doing the fighting were supplied with water, food and ammunition. Most astonishing, his improvised units not only repulsed assaults, they also sortied out several times, destroying some of Saladin’s siege engines, and two or three times chasing the Saracens all the way back to the palisades of their camp. Nicholaa de la Haye was born in Lincolnshire, England, around 1150, and inherited her fathers land when he died. Married at least twice, Nicholaa was the castellan of Lincoln Castle, her family estate, despite the fact that each of her husbands tried to claim it as their own. When her spouses were away, Nicholaa ran the show. William Longchamps, a chancellor of Richard I, was heading to Nottingham to battle against Prince John, and along the way, he stopped at Lincoln, laying siege to Nicholaas castle. She refused to yield, and commanding 30 knights, 20 men-at-arms, and a few hundred infantrymen, held the castle for 40 days. Longchamps eventually gave up and moved on. She defended her home again a few years later when Prince Louis of France tried to invade Lincoln. Women didnt just show up and perform the duties of knights in defensive mode. There are several accounts of queens who traveled into the field with their armies in times of war. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Queen of both France and England, led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She even did it while dressed in armor and carrying a lance, although she didnt personally fight. During the War of the Roses, Marguerite d’Anjou personally directed the actions of Lancastrian commanders during battles against Yorkist opponents while her husband, King Henry VI, was incapacitated by bouts of madness. In fact, in 1460, she defeated the threat to her husband’s throne by calling on the Lancastrian nobility to assemble a mighty host in Yorkshire that ambushed York and killed him and 2,500 of his men outside his ancestral home at Sandal Castle. Finally, its important to note that over the centuries, there were countless other women who donned armor and rode into war. We know this because although medieval European writers documenting the Crusades emphasized the notion that pious Christian women did not fight, the historians of their Muslim opponents wrote of crusading women battling against them. The Persian scholar Imad ad-din al-Isfahani wrote, a woman of high rank arrived by sea in late autumn 1189, with an escort of 500 knights with  their forces, squires, pages and valets. She paid all their expenses and also led them in  raids on the Muslims. He went on to say that there were many female knights among the Christians, who wore armour like the men and fought like men in battle, and could not be told apart from  the men until they were killed and the armour was stripped from their bodies. Although their names have been lost to history, these women did exist, they simply were not granted the title of knight. Sources Ashmole, Elias. â€Å"The Institution, Laws Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter Collected and Digested into One Body.†Ã‚  Early English Books Online, The University of Michigan, quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A26024.0001.001?viewtoc.Nicholson, Helen, and Helen Nicholson. â€Å"Women and the Crusades.†Ã‚  Academia.edu, www.academia.edu/7608599/Women_and_the_Crusades.Schrader, Helena P. â€Å"Surrender of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187.†Ã‚  Defending the Crusader Kingdoms, 1 Jan. 1970, defendingcrusaderkingdoms.blogspot.com/2017/10/surrender-of-jerusalem-to-saladin-in.html.Velde, Francois R. â€Å"Women Knights in the Middle Ages.†Ã‚  Women Knights, www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/wom-kn.htm.

Love Bomb The Musical, Produced By Donna Spencer And...

Rhianna Jagpal WMST 1216 Love Bomb xxx words I attended the live performance of â€Å"Love Bomb† the musical, produced by Donna Spencer and directed by Reneà © Iaci. The production was put up by the Firehall Arts Center located at 280 E Cordova St, Vancouver, BC. The central storyline of the show was as follows: A concert of emotion rips through Justine’s (played by Sara Vickruck) first performance in years, and all because of one uninvited guest, Lillian (played by Deb Pickman), her music takes on a life of its own. Lillian is a desperate mother searching for her missing daughter while Justine is hiding a secret that could kill her career. As the musical’s storyline developed further, it was clear that a sensitive topic was the underlying issue: Prostitution. In the production, Lillian comes to discover that her missing daughter, Nicola, has actually run away with her highschool boyfriend. At the time Nicola was 16 and her boyfriend said to be 23 but in actuality was 33. The boyfriend was a pimp and had slowly lured little Nicola into becoming a prostitute. Within the first couple months of the relationship everything was normal and he financially supported Nicola in every way. He used money as a ploy to manipulate her. Once she realized she loved the thrill, money, and drugs, she was hooked. Worst of all, she was in love with him and there was no turning back. Lillian comes to meet Justine, a singer/songwriter who was once in Nicola’s position but was

Intelligence And The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences

Taylor Ward Mrs. Behrend AP Seminar December 14, 2015 Intelligence and Socioeconomics According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, intelligence is â€Å"the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills,† though, there are many different perspectives regarding intelligence. Some believe the human species is born with a natural intelligence. Others, consider that possessed intelligence is developed by the interactions and experiences of an individual. The ongoing argument of whether a genius born or made is still inconclusive. However, one thing we are certain of is that intelligence plays into one’s financial status. There are no restrictions placed on what type of intelligence, just simply the intelligence one uses to thrive. Founder of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner, would likely agree. The Professor at Harvard University created the Theory of Multiple Intelligences which states that rather than intelligence being considered a single ability, intelligence is viewed by different â€Å"modaliti es.† (Lane et al.) Therefore, whether discussing Kim Kardashian-West who possesses interpersonal intelligence, allowing her to interact with others efficiently, or Albert Einstein, renowned for obtaining logical-mathematical intelligence, granting him the famous the ability to think outside of the box to analyze patterns and relationships, intelligence has an impact on income. Throughout this paperreport, the author will discuss what affects intelligence and howShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Intelligence, And Multiple Intelligences Theory1977 Words   |  8 Pagesthe origins , factors of Intelligence. Thinkers from as early as the Greek school of philosophy pondered what made one man smart ,and another dull. Early england thought that they could correlate the size of a man’s head with his intelligence. Though it was only when psychologists started testing people using exams aimed at cognitive processes did real scientific theories start to emerge. The question I began with when starting this project is, What theory of intelligence most accurately models itRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences1489 Words   |  6 Pagesrelated to intelligence cognitive and learning as a style of individual differences, explanation the complex process of learning through of the intelligences. Howards Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences thirty years ago, explain the intelligence is the profile and each individual has different ways to learn, he affirm has seven intelligences differ in their thinking, feeling, and behavior. â€Å"No two people are alike, yet no two people are unlike† Gardner (1983). Gardner s theory has beenRead MoreThe Theory of Multiple Intelligence1511 Words   |  6 PagesTheory of Multiple Intelligence Theory of Multiple Intelligence Intelligence is defined as the mental ability of a person to learn and understand effectively and efficiently what is happening around. If any person is considered good enough in communication, understanding and learning, logical reasoning, facts and figures, general knowledge, ability to interpret information and other alike mental activities which account for personal growth, we say that he/she is wise and intelligent. UnfortunatelyRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences1345 Words   |  6 Pagesit depends on their learning ability and intelligence. Intelligence is conventionally defined as a uniform cognitive capacity with which people are born. Howard Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to solve problems, or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings. Today, there are nine distinct intelligences. Some of these include musical, interpersonal, existential and a few more (2004). The Theory of Multiple Intelligences has helped students tha t learn, rememberRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences3232 Words   |  13 PagesIntroduction The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, developed by Howard Gardner is the psychological theory regarding intelligence. Looking at Multiple Intelligences through the field of education we will explore what the different Multiple Intelligences are and how you engage each intelligence in the classroom. While there are further implications for Multiple Intelligences, MI, that are relevant to other fields, the focus is on the relevance of MI in the elementary and middle school classroomsRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences1889 Words   |  8 Pagesthe theory of multiple intelligences in relation to Nelson Mandela; it will be split into three main sections. Firstly, explaining the theory of multiple intelligence as a whole, then giving a brief biography of Nelson Mandela and his life achievements. Finally, I will focus in more detail on one particular category of intelligence in Gardner’s theory; interpersonal intelligence. One of the multiple intelligence s stated by Gard ner s theory. This part of the essay will evaluate the theory, by applyingRead MoreTheory of Multiple Intelligences3604 Words   |  15 PagesTheory of multiple intelligences The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 as a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific (primarily sensory) modalities[disambiguation needed], rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability. Gardner argues that there is a wide range of cognitive abilities, and that there are only very weak correlations among them. For example, the theory predicts that a child who learns to multiplyRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences1226 Words   |  5 Pagesmight work for someone does not necessarily works for everyone. Enabling students to a way of education that takes into accounts their differences will help develop their own personal set of skills. The theory of multiple intelligences, introduced by Howard Gardner, estates that rather than intelligence being one single ability there are eight different abilities that people possess in disparate amounts. These eight abilities are: 1) musical-rhythmic; which deals with rhythms, sounds, tones and musicRead MoreTheory Of Multiple Intelligences Theory1177 Words   |  5 Pages Many theories exist around the world involving many different subjects. Some theories are in the science area while others are in the psychology area. One psychology theory that is used in education is the theory of Multiple Intelligences. The Multiple Intelligences Theory is a theory that shows the nine intelligences all individuals possess, with some individuals being more strong in some intelligences more than the others. Knowing the nine intelligences that exist, it is easier for educators toRead MoreThe Theory Of Multiple Intelligences Theory1827 Words   |  8 PagesWhat is intelligence? Is it how well an individual can excel at academic tasks, emotional tasks, or physical tasks? Can intelligence be measure scientifically and accurately or is it an abstract idea or concept that requires an individual to critically think and come up with an answer? A common interpretation of intelligence is the ability or abilities of an individual’s capacity for: logic, emotion, abstrac t, learning, planning, understanding, memory, self-awareness, creativity, and most important

Can a Criminal Be Rehabilitated Back Into Society Free Essays

The purpose of this paper is to research the whole subject of criminals and their rehabilitation. This is a discussion of what society’s responsibility in this matter is and how to approach whether it is reform or punishing those who commit the crime. Should a criminal who claims insanity be rehabilitated into society? This is a common argument that many people find themselves wondering if such thing is possible when a heinous crime has been committed. We will write a custom essay sample on Can a Criminal Be Rehabilitated Back Into Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is stated that juries find for only about 20 percent of the defendants who plead insanity. Sixty to 70 percent of insanity pleas are for crimes other than murder. They range from assault to shoplifting. There are some opponents that attack the insanity defense for confusing psychiatric and legal concepts, in the process undermining the moral integrity of the law. During the 150 years or so the insanity defense has been and still is an issue in the U. S. within our criminal law and the medical psychology that have gone through many tireless changes in the criminal responsibility and the mental illness relationship. Ignoring this issue we may have steered away from an important source in our struggle with this type of defense. The United States Federal law states that insanity is a fair defense if at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of the wrongfulness of his or her acts. When invoking insanity as a defense, a defendant is required to notify the prosecution. In some states, sanity is determined by the judge or jury in a separate proceeding following the determination of guilt or innocence at trial. In other states, the defense is either accepted or rejected in the verdict of the judge or jury. Even if evidence of insanity does not win a verdict of not guilty, the sentencing court may consider it as a mitigating factor. The criminal justice system under which all men and women are tried holds a concept called mens rea, a Latin phrase that means â€Å"state of mind†. According to this concept, criminals committed who commit their crimes are oblivious of the wrongfulness of their actions. A mentally challenged person, including one with mental retardation, who cannot distinguish between right and wrong is protected and exempted by the court of law from being unfairly punished for his/her crime. Insanity, what does that word mean? I don’t have a clear cut definition for it but for most of us when we think of that word we think of someone mentally ill or just plain crazy. Does insanity makes us loose the thought of moral value and or our justification from right from wrong? It is stated that most socially recognized authorities such as psychiatrists, medical doctors, and lawyers agree that it is a brain disease. Let say it is a brain disease should we link insanity with other brain diseases like strokes and Parkinsonism? Unlike these two diseases, whose causes can be medically accounted for through a behavioral deficit such as paralysis, and weakness, how can one explain the behavior of crimes done by such criminals? Doctor’s and psychiatrists describe what they say insanity is a neurological illness explaining it to a jury a person’s or in this case a criminal’s reason and behavior. It rarely excuses it. Insanity is now considered a legal concept not a medical diagnosis. The most widely known rule in the insanity defense refers to the M’Naghten rule which arose in 1983 during the trial of Daniel M’Naghten who pleaded that he was not responsible for his murders because he suffered from delusions at the time of that he committed the crime. The rule states that a criminal defendant may be excused from criminal responsibility if at the time of the crime, the person accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from a mental illness, as not to know the nature and the quality of the act he or she was doing. The biggest problem I feel is that with the insanity defense is either examined from a legal angle or a psychoanalytical one which involves talking to people and taking many tests. These tests so far show no proof of confirming the causal relationship between mental illness and the criminal behavior based on a deeper neurological working of the brain sciences. Many doctors and or professionals seemed to find themselves in a double bind where with no clear medical definition of mental illness, he/she must answer questions of legal insanity- beliefs of human rationality, and free will instead of basing it on more concrete scientific facts. For example, let us use a case study to elaborate the argument that law in this country continues to regard insanity as a moral and legal matter rather than ones based on scientific analysis. Remember the insanity case of Andrea Yates which occurred in Houston, Texas in 2002. In March 2002, a panel of Texas jurors debated her fate. A devoted mother with a history of postpartum psychosis, hallucinations, and two suicide attempts, Yates admitted to drowning her five children in a bathtub. Prosecutors conceded that Yates was mentally ill but knew right from wrong and so was not legally insane at the time of the murders. Under the law, jurors could not be told that Yates would be hospitalized if she were found NGRI. The jury rejected her claim of mental illness, found her guilty, spared her the death penalty but sentenced her to life in prison. At least there Yates would be kept in protective custody because of her ongoing mental problems and possible threats from other inmates and unless she needed intensive psychiatric care she would eventually mingle with the general population at the prison known for housing some of the toughest, meanest women in Texas. Yates’s symptoms are controlled by medication. How about rehabilitating the insane, is it possible or how are we the society should deal with this issue? Rehabilitation is based on the idea that the criminal violation resulted from inadequate socialization of the offender; it represents an effort to provide some counseling and practical training that can aid an offender and therefore weaken or remove the stimuli that led him or her to committing the crime. Can we just say that the person with the mental illness is not capable of being normal or distinguishing right from wrong so we should just lock them up and throw the key away? One might wonder if criminals use the insanity defense to escape punishment. After all a crime had been committed and therefore they too should be punished maybe not as a normal criminal but with the proper medical assistance needed for their behavior can be controlled. Some of these individuals can in fact be rehabilitated back into society by properly giving them the right medication and not just sending them to jail where they get no help. If in fact the insanity defense is successful the offender then is placed in psychiatric hospital or the psychiatric ward of a state prison which are secured facilities. Many offenders who plead insanity are nonviolent offenders, and most if not all will stay at the hospital longer than they would if they were going to prison if had been convicted of the crime that they were accused of. Again the insanity does not always bring freedom but indeterminate detention. The defense by which defendant argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law due to being legally insane when at the time the crime occurred. The defendants who attempt such defense will undergo mental examinations beforehand. There are four various insanity defense standards. The first is the M’Nagthen rule which the standard is whether or not he or she did not know what he or she was doing or didn’t know it was wrong. The burden of proof varies, from proof by a balance of probabilities on the defense to proof a beyond a reasonable doubt on the prosecutor and or depending on the state jurisdiction. The second is the irresistible impulse test which legal standard is if he or she could not control his conduct. The third is the substantial capacity test. The legal standard is if he or she lacks the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to control it and the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt and rests on the prosecutor. The fourth test is the Present federal law which indicates if he or she lacks the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her conduct. The burden of proof is clear and convincing evidence and rests on the defense. The insanity defense shouldn’t be confused with incompetency. Individuals who are incompetent to stand trial are held in a mental institution until they are considered capable of participating in the proceedings. The insanity defense should also be kept separate from issues concerning the mental retardation. In the case in 2002 Atkins v. Virginia the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of the mentally retarded criminals constituted the cruel and unusual punishment and it was prohibited by the 8th Amendment. If a criminal is acquitted by reason of insanity then execution was not an option. The insanity defense has contributed to making the law more humane. The criminal justice system seeks to protect the public, with the main goal of the mental health system in treating and rehabilitating individuals with some sort of mental illness. Another issue is what critics contend that the insanity defense undermines the functioning of the criminal justice system. Wealthy defendants are able to hire experts and have the advantage over the indigent. The defense may be exploited by perfectly sane defendants who have the resources to conclude a credible defense. The wealthy defendant who pleads insanity usually hires his or her own medical team to be evaluated. This often leads to corruption in a rich man’s trial, because the wealthy can afford to buy their doctor’s verdicts. This is very unfair in that, the wealthy can afford to hire expensive doctors and defenses and are more likely to get off with a non-guilty verdict whereas the poor man or middle class man has less of a chance even if they are actually insane. This presents a violation of the very basic concept that all people, regardless of their wealth or social status, should be given the equal treatment they deserve when in a court of law, but that is not always the case. Some studies have shown that as many as 70 percent of NGRI defendants withdrew their plea when a state-appointed expert found them to be legally sane. Individuals in this type social status are using the insanity plea as a way to get away with their crime and not have to be punished. If a person is truly insane and cannot be counted on to know the difference between right and wrong, this should be seen beforehand by medical doctors, declared insane and then taken out of society’s reach for the safety of the innocent. Those who are harmful to the public should be kept away, not as a measure of cruelty but for the one with mental illness they should get the proper care in a secure facility and once they are sane than be transferred to a prison facility. The law states that we have the same rights no matter what our social status is so therefore should get the same treatment. That is not always the case though. It is difficult even for doctor’s to really determine if the defendant really was insane when the crime was being committed. To really understand the nature of the insanity defense one must go back and look at where and how it started. In today’s insanity cases, mental health experts, doctors, and scientists have important roles to play. They can inform the jury of the nature of the defendant’s mental illness, the likeliness that the crime might be repeated, and whether the defendant may bring harm upon himself/herself. However, like any court case, there will always be divided opinions amongst the mental experts regarding the outcome of the case depending on whether they testify for or against the defendant. Dangerous mentally ill offenders should be confined appropriately to proper treatment facilities while receiving care. Mentally ill offenders I believe would be less of a financial burden to society since they would be able to return to society as productive members following their required treatment. Many mentally ill offenders would no longer be sentenced as if they had the mens rea required for committing the crime. Instead, mentally ill offenders would receive a constitutionally valid sentence that is proportional to their degree of culpability, thus accurately reflecting the criminal justice system’s notion of criminal culpability. References: Anniken Davenport (2009), Basic Criminal Law: The Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes, 2nd Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Paul B. Weston Kenneth M. Wells Marlene Hertoghe (1995), Criminal Evidence for Police, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Larry J. Siegel (2004), Criminology: Theories, Patterns, Typologies, 8th edition, Belmont, Ca. Wadsworth/Thompson Kenneth J Peak (2003), Policing in America: Methods, Issues, Challenges, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. References: Anniken Davenport (2009), Basic Criminal Law: The Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes, 2nd Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Paul B. Weston Kenneth M. Wells Marlene Hertoghe (1995), Criminal Evidence for Polic e, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Larry J. Siegel (2004), Criminology: Theories, Patterns, Typologies, 8th edition, Belmont, Ca. :Wadsworth/Thompson Kenneth J Peak (2003), Policing in America: Methods, Issues, Challenges, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Todd R. Clear George F. Cole (2003), American Corrections, 6th edition, Belmont, Ca. Wadsworth/Thompson Frank Schmalleger (2002), Criminal Justice: A brief imtroduction, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Todd R. Clear George F. Cole (2003), American Corrections, 6th edition, Belmont, Ca. Wadsworth/Thompson Frank Schmalleger (2002), Criminal Justice: A brief imtroduction, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. How to cite Can a Criminal Be Rehabilitated Back Into Society, Papers

My Dream of becoming an Entrepreneur free essay sample

When I was eight years old I dreamed of being a chief. I loved cooking with my mom or grandma. When they would let me help I would taste everything. That is what really made me want to become a chief. As the years went by and I got older I changed my mind on what I wanted to do in life. We will write a custom essay sample on My Dream of becoming an Entrepreneur or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I would say that is was twelve when I wanted to work with my dad at Coke Cola Enterprise because he was the manager. I watched him as he ran the business which he is still doing. I started to like having people do what I told them to do and just having control. So I said to myself I can combine the two things that I really love and enjoy and not get bored with it. When I got to high school everyone started asking me what I wanted to do in life. They told me that I need to buckle down and take my SAT and ACT and pass all my classes with an A or B average, because after high school it was no more playing around it was all going to be about business. I felt like they were pushing me to much so I got lazy but kept my grades up. As it started getting serious I got nervous. I didn’t know what college I wanted to attend to or how I was going to pay for it. So I started researching about my career and found out some amazing facts. I found out that in order for me to start a business I need to outline my restaurants menu, and define its specialties; research the restaurant industry in the area; and determine the pros and cons that can happen with the restaurant. The second thing I would need to do is compare my restaurant to other restaurants in the area to see if I have any competition. Then I would have to write out a business plan to, while doing that I am going to include the facts that I got from the first two steps. After I have done that I would have to register with the state to make sure that is alright for me to start my business ( Charmayne Smith, eHow Contributor). As you see there are a lot of steps that need to be done to create my master piece of a restaurant. Well before I do that I would have to go to college to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Business. I would like to attend Georgia State University in the fall of 2014. I know that it will take me four years to finish school to get my degree. I would need at least 120 semester credit hours of classwork, with one credit hour representing an hour of classroom lecture and three hours outside preparation