Great Expectations: Dickens writing is purely political

Charles Dickens was born on the 7th of February 1812, just before the time that is know as the Victorian Era. Dickens was a political journalist before becoming an author, which may well have helped him to deliver his political messages in his books. Dickens does this well at this, for example from reading Great Expectations one can clearly understand his views on social classes and how he wants to make a change by expressing them to the public, mainly the rich. Pip is the protagonist and narrator in Great Expectations. Just from his name we can learn some of Dicken's messages. Pip, is a very short name. Dickens named him Pip to show that just because your small in society, that doesn't mean you can't become big. As pip grew up, and rose in the social classes, Dickens is selling the rich that the poor have potential to be big in society. Pip then explains how he never came to know his father or mother because they had passed away when he was too young to know them. The readers will feel sympathy for pip at this point. Dickens also adds humour to the scene, when he has pip describe his parents by the style of writing on their tombstones, for example when he describes his dad ‘ he was a square, stout, dark man†¦' Dickens also uses this to render out a youthful innocence in Pip, as when the convict, Magwitch, asks him about his parents, Pip recites them as they appear on the tombstone. When Magwitch is introduced by Dickens, describe by Pip as a ‘fearful man', the readers will feel concerned for Pip and his safety. However, they will also feel pity for the man, as Pip describes him as a ‘man with no hat and with broken shoes'. Dickens does a good job at making the readers feel pity for both Pip and Magwitch at the same time. The readers will feel like they need to help Pip, as he is threatened with danger when Magwitch says ‘ I'll cut your throat!' Although Pip is overpowered by the convict, he is still very polite and kind to him, for example pip replies with ‘Sir' frequently, showing a sign of respect and good manner. This tells the readers that just because a person is poor, Pip in this case, that it doesn't mean they are not a gentlemen. Pip is also honest with Magwitch, further emphasizing Dicken's views. Dickens has Pip be polite to Magwitch; this is because Dickens wants the readers to see how Gentleman-like poor people actually are. Dickens has Magwitch force Pip to get him some food, by threatening him with an evil companion of his. We soon learn that this companion is actually made up. Dickens does this so that Magwitch is not as evil as he seems to be, and is in someway saving Pip from the so-called menace. It also shows how desperate Magwitch is for food, and how desperate poor people would go just to live. Onto chapter 8, the readers are introduced to a Mr. Pumblechook. Dickens has added this character to create humour and to emphasize his political messages. Mr Pumblechook thought that he was a gentleman because he was rich. Yet when contrasted to Pip, Pip is the real gentleman. Dickens message is vibrant and clear; you do not need to be rich to be a gentleman. Dickens has Mr. Pumblechook ask Pip a lot of questions, such as ‘Seven times nine, boy?' Pip does not know the answer; this is because he is not educated. Immediately the readers will feel sympathy for Pip, as they feel that he deserves one. This will also give the readers the assumption that Mr. Pumblechook. As Pip described, he was unable to eat his breakfast as Mr. Pumblechook kept asking him questions he knew he couldn't answer, and so theoretically stopping him from eating. Dickens uses this to deliver his message that in order to be fed, one must be educated. This will make the rich believe that the poor deserve education. It will make the readers believe Mr. Pumblechook is a selfish man. Mr. Pumblechook adds humour to the scene because he can be classed as a ‘wanna-be' rich person. Both social classes will find this funny so it is an appealing way of Dickens to keep the readers interested and enjoying the book, whilst sharing his political views. Dickens also gave him the name ‘Pumblechook' because it doesn't sound very serious, like he is. It will make him sound more like a joke than a gentleman. When Pumblechook takes Pip to Miss. Havisham's house, Pip meets Estella, the cruel invention of Mrs. Havisham's own madness. Estella's beauty amazes him. However Pip learns that she does not reflect her outer looks on the inside, and instead is cruel on the inside. The message here is simple; the rich look nice on the outside, yet lack that goodness on the inside. Mrs. Havisham, who adopted Estella, is the owner of the mansion Pip is visiting. She is a mad and vengeful woman, corrupting Estella to break Pip's heart as her fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ had done previously. This shows how the rich are selfish of other people's feelings, and in this case, Pip, the poor young boy. It will make the rich audience think about how they treat the poor, and make Dicken's messages successful. The rich also put a lot of pressure on the poor, as demonstrated in Chapter 8. When Pip was playing with Estella, she makes remarks at the difference between the classes. ‘He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy†¦ and what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!' This shows that she is disrespectful to Pip because he is poor and uneducated. This also puts pressure on Pip to change; Pip wanted to change because he liked Estella, but knew he she would never like him if he wasn't a ‘gentleman'. Also, when Miss. Havisham asks Pip about his feelings for Estella, he nervously and shyly replies ‘ I don't like to say'. Miss. Havisham replies ‘Tell me in my ear'. This shows a sign of disrespect and disregard to what Pip has to say, and politically Dickens uses to describe how the rich disregard what the poor have to say in society. Miss. Havisham's house is very big and beautiful. However on the inside, it is old and ugly, ‘the standing still of all the pale decayed objects' is an example. Dickens does this because it is a representation of how Dickens portrays the rich. It is also to describe how the rich cover their outside with nice clothes to hide the cruelty on the inside. From chapter one and 8 of Great Expectations, the statement above could be proved true; Dickens writing is purely political. Dickens use of characters, contrast, setting, metaphors, and description, has inserted many messages in ingenious ways so that the reader will learn of them. Dickens is not only a political writer, but is an outstanding writer all together. His ability to combine a great story with political meanings is perhaps why he is known as one of the best novelists of all time.

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 7

Finding Todd and Vic turned out not to be easy. It was late afternoon by the time Mary-Lynnettewalked into the Briar Creek general store, which sold everything from nails to nylons to canned peas. â€Å"Hi, Bunny. I don't suppose you've seen Todd orVic around?† Bunny Marten looked up from behind the counter. She was pretty, with soft blond hair, a round, dimpled face, and a timid expression. She was in MaryLynnette's class at school. â€Å"Did you check over at theGold Creek Bar?† Mary-Lynnette nodded. â€Å"And at their houses, andat the other store, and at the sheriff's office.† The sheriff's office was also city hall and the public library. â€Å"Well, if they'renot playing pool, they're usuallyplinking.† Plinkingwas shooting atcans for practice. â€Å"Yeah, but where?† Mary-Lynnette said. Bunny shook her head, earrings glinting. â€Å"Yourguess is as good as mine.† She hesitated, staring down at her cuticles, which she was pushing back with a little blunt-pointed wooden stick. â€Å"But, you know, I've heard they go down to Mad Dog Creeksometimes.† Her wide blue eyes lifted to Mary Lynnette's meaningfully. Mad Dog Creek. . . Oh, great. Mary-Lynnette grimaced. â€Å"I know.† Bunny raised her shoulders in a shiver.†I wouldn't go down there. I'd be thinking about that body the whole time.† â€Å"Yeah, me, too. Well, thanks, Bun. See you.† Bunny examined her cuticles critically. â€Å"Good hunting,† she said absently. Mary-Lynnette went out of the store, squinting in the hot, hazy August sunlight. Main Street wasn'tbig. It had a handful of brick and stone buildingsfrom the days when Briar Creek had been a gold rush supply town, and a few modem frame buildings with peeling paint. Todd and Vic weren't in any of them. Well, what now? Mary-Lynnette sighed. There was no road to Mad Dog Creek, only a trail that was constantly blocked by new growth and deadfall. And everyone knew more than plinking went on there. If they're out there, they're probably hunting, she thought. Not to mention drinking, maybe using drugs. Guns and beer. And then there's that body. The body had been found last year around thistime. A man; a hiker, from his backpack. Nobody knew who he was or how he'd died-the corpse wastoo desiccated and chewed by animals to tell. But people talked about ghosts floating around the creek last winter. Mary-Lynnette sighed again and got into her station wagon. The car was ancient, it was rusty, it made alarming sounds when forced to accelerate, but it was hers, andMary-Lynnette did her best to keep it alive. She loved it because there was plenty of room in back to store her telescope. At Briar Creek's only gas station she fished a scrolled fruit knife from under the seat and went to work, prying at the rusty gas cap cover. A little higher up . . . almost, almost . . . now twist †¦ The cover flew open. â€Å"Ever think of going into the safecracking business?† a voice behind her said. â€Å"You've got the touch.† Mary-Lynnette turned. â€Å"Hi, Jeremy.† He smiled-a smile that showed mostly in his eyes,which were dear brown with outrageously darklashes. If I were going to fall for a guy-and I'm not-itwould be for somebody like him.Not for a big blond cat who thinks he can pick his sisters' friends. It was a moot point, anyway-Jeremy didn't goout with girls. He was a loner. â€Å"Want me to look under the hood?† He wiped his hands on a rag. â€Å"No, thanks. I just checked everything last week.† Mary-Lynnette started to pump gas. He picked up a squeegee and a spray bottle and began to wash the windshield. His movements were deft and gentle and his face was utterly solemn. Mary-Lynnette had to swallow a giggle herself, butshe appreciated him not laughing at the pitted glass and corroded windshield wipers. She'd always had an odd feeling of kinship with Jeremy. He was the only person in Briar Creek who seemed even slightlyinterested in astronomy-he'd helped her build a model of the solar system in eighth grade, and ofcourse he'd watched last year's lunar eclipse with her. His parents had died in Medford when he was justa baby, and his uncle brought him to Briar Creek in a Fleetwood trailer. The uncle was strange-alwayswandering off to dowse for gold in the Klamath wil derness. One day he didn't come back. After that, Jeremy lived alone in the . trailer in the woods. He did odd jobs and worked at the gas station to make money. And if his clothes weren't as nice assome of the other kids', he didn't care-or he didn't let it show. The handle of the gas hose clicked in MaryLynnette's hand. She realized she had been daydreaming. â€Å"Anything else?† Jeremy said. The windshieldwas dean. â€Å"No †¦ well, actually, yes. You haven't, um, seenTodd Akers or Vic Kimble today, have you?† Jeremy paused in the middle of taking her twentydollar bill. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"I just wanted to talk to them,† Mary-Lynnettesaid. She could feel heat in her cheeks. Oh, God, hethinks I want to see Todd and Vic socially-and he thinks I'm crazy for askinghim. She hurried to explain. â€Å"It's just that Bunny saidthey might be down by Mad Dog Creek, so I thoughtyou might have seen them, maybe sometime this morning, since you live down around there†¦.† Jeremy shook his head. â€Å"I left at noon, but I didn'thear any gunshots from the creek this morning. Ac tually, I don't think they've been there all summerI keep telling them to stay away.† He said it quietly, without emphasis, but Mary-Lynnette had the sudden feeling that maybe evenTodd and Vic might listen to him. She'd never knownJeremy to get in a fight. But sometimes a look came into his level brown eyes that was ..: almost frightening. As if there was something underneath thatquiet-guy exterior-something primitive and pure and deadly that could do a lot of damage if roused. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette-I know you probably think thisis none of my business, but †¦ well, I think you should stay away from those guys. If you really wantto go find them, let me go with you.† Oh. Mary-Lynnette felt a warm flush of gratitude. She wouldn't take him up on the offer †¦ but it was nice of him to make it. â€Å"Thanks,† she said. â€Å"I'll be fine, but †¦ thanks .† She watched as he went to get her change insidethe station. What must it feel like to be on your own since you were twelve years old? Maybe he neededhelp. Maybe she should ask her dad to offer him some odd jobs around the house. He did them for everyone else. She just had to be careful-she knew Jeremy hated anything that smacked of charity. He brought back the change. â€Å"Here you go. And, Mary-Lynnette †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked up. â€Å"If you do find Todd and Vic, be careful.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"I mean it.† â€Å"I know,† Mary-Lynnette said. She had reached for the change, but he hadn't let go of it. Instead hedid something odd: He opened her curled fingers with one hand while giving her the bills and coins with the other. Then he curled her fingers back over it. In effect, he was holding her hand. The moment of physical contact surprised herand touched her. She found herself looking at his thin brown fingers, at their strong but delicate grip on her hand, at the gold seal ring with the black design that he wore. She was even more surprised when she glanced up at his face again. There was open concern in his eyes-and something like respect. For an instant she had a wild and completely inexplicable impulse to tell him everything. But she could just imagine what he would think. Jeremy was very practical. â€Å"Thanks, Jeremy,† she said, conjuring up a weak smile. â€Å"Take care.† â€Å"Youtake care. There are people who'd miss you if anything happened.† He smiled, but she could feel his worried gaze on her even as she drove away. All right,now what? Well, she'd wasted most of the day looking for Todd and Vic. And now, with the image of Jeremy's level brown eyes in her mind, she wondered if it had been a stupid idea from the beginning. Brown eyes †¦ and what color eyes did the bigblond cat have? Strange, it was hard to remember.She thought that they had looked brown at one point when he was talking about his old-fashioned family. But when he'd said he liked a girl with spirit, she remembered them being a sort of insipid blue. And when that odd knife-glint had flashed in them, hadn't they been icy gray? Oh,who cares?Maybe they were orange. Let's just go home now. Get ready for tonight. How come Nancy Drew always found the people she wanted to interrogate? Why? Why? Why me? Ash was staring at a yellow cedar weeping into a creek. A squirrel too stupid to get out of the sun was staring back at him. On a rock beside him a lizard lifted first one foot, then another. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. He didn't even believe it. He'd always been lucky. Or at least he'd alwaysmanaged to escape a hairsbreadth away from disaster. But this time the disaster had hit and it was a total annihilation. Everything he was, everything he believed abouthimself †¦ could he lose that in five minutes? For a girl who was probably deranged and certainly more dangerous than all three of his sisters put together? No, he concluded grimly. Absolutely not. Not in five minutes. It only took five seconds. He knew so many girls-nice girls. Witches withmysterious smiles, vampires with delicious curves, shapeshifters with cute furry tails. Even human girls with fancy sports cars who never seemed to mind when he nibbled their necks. Why couldn't it have been one of them? Well, it wasn't. And there was no point in wondering about the injustice of it. The question was, what was he going todo about it? Just sit back and let fate ride over him like an eighteen-wheeler? I'm sorryfor your family, Quinn had said to him. And maybe that was the problem. Ash was a victim of his Redfern genes. Redfern never could stay out of trouble; they seemed to tangle with humans at every turn. So was he going to wait for Quinn to come backand then offer that as an excuse? I'm sorry; I can't handle things here after all; I can't even finishthe investigation. If he did that, Quinn would call in the Elders and they would investigate for themselves. Ash felt his expression harden. He narrowed his eyes at the squirrel, which suddenly darted for thetree in a flash of red fur. Beside him, the lizard stopped moving. No, he wasn't just going to wait for fate to finish him off. He'd do what he could to salvage the situa tion-and the family honor. He'd do it tonight. â€Å"We'll do it tonight,† Rowan said. â€Å"After it's fully dark, before the moon rises. We'll move her to the forest.† Kestrel smiled magnanimously. She'd wonthe argument. â€Å"We'll have to be careful,† Jade said. â€Å"That thingI heard outside last night-it wasn't an animal. I think it was one of us.† â€Å"There aren't any other Night People aroundhere,† Rowan said gently. â€Å"That was the whole pointof coming here in the first place.† â€Å"Maybe it was a vampire hunter,† Kestrel said.†Maybe the one that killed Aunt Opal.† â€Å"If avampire hunter killed Aunt Opal,† Rowansaid. â€Å"We don't know that. Tomorrow we should look around town, see if we can at least get an ideawho mighthave done it.† â€Å"And when we find them, we'll take care ofthem,† Jade said fiercely. â€Å"And if the thing you heard in the garden turnsup, we'll take care of it, too,† Kestrel said. She smiled, a hungry smile. Twilight, and Mary-Lynnette was watching thedock. The rest of her family was comfortably, settledin for the night; her father reading a book about World War II, Claudine working conscientiously on a needlepoint project, Mark trying to tune up his oldguitar that had been sitting in the basement for years. He was undoubtedly trying to think of words to rhyme with Jade. Mary-Lynnette's father looked up from his book. â€Å"Going starwatching?† â€Å"Yup. It should be a good night-no moon till aftermidnight. It's the last chance to see some Perseids.† She wasn't exactly lying. It would be a good night, and she could keep an eye out for stragglers from the Perseid meteor storm as she walked to Burdock Farm. â€Å"Okay; just be careful,† her father said. Mary-Lynnette was surprised. He hadn't said anything like that for years. She glanced at Claudine, who jabbed with her needle, lips pursed. â€Å"Maybe Mark should go with you,† Claudine said, without looking up. Oh, God, she thinks I'm unstable, Mary-Lynnette thought. I don't really blame her. â€Å"No, no. I'll be fine. I'll be careful.† She said it too quickly. Mark's eyes narrowed. â€Å"Don't you need any help with your stuff?† â€Å"No, I'll take the car. I'll be. fine. Really.†Mary Lynnette fled to the garage before her family could come up with anything else. She didn't pack her telescope. Instead, she put a shovel in the backseat. She looped the strap of her camera around her neck and stuck a pen flashlight in her pocket. She parked at the foot of her hill. Before she gotthe shovel out, she paused a moment to look dutifully northeast, toward the constellation Perseus. No meteors right this second. All right. Keys inhand, she turned to open the back of the station wagon-and jumped violently. â€Å"Oh, God!† She'd nearly walked into Ash. Mary-Lynnette's pulse was racing and her knees felt weak. From fear, she told herself. And that's all. â€Å"You nearly gave me a heart attack!† she said. â€Å"Doyou always creep up behind people like that?† She expected some smart-ass answer of either the joking-menacing or the hey-baby variety. But Ashjust frowned at her moodily. â€Å"No. What are you doing out here?† Mary-Lynnette's heart skipped several beats. But she heard her own voice answering flatly, â€Å"I'm starwatching. I do it every night. You might want to make a note of that for the thought police.† He looked at her, then at the station wagon. â€Å"Starwatching?† â€Å"Of course. From that hill.† She gestured. Now he was looking at the camera looped around her neck. â€Å"No telescope,† he commented skeptically. â€Å"Or is that what's in the car?† Mary-Lynnette realized she was still holding the keys, ready to open the back of the wagon. â€Å"I didn't bring a telescope tonight.† She went around to the passenger side of the car, unlocked the door, reached in to pull out her binoculars. â€Å"You don't need a telescope to starwatch. You can see plenty with these.† â€Å"Oh, really?† â€Å"Yes,really.†Now, that was a mistake, Mary -Lynnette thought, suddenly grimly amused. Acting as if you don't believe me †¦ just you wait. â€Å"You want to see light from four million yearsago?† she said. Then, without waiting for him to answer: â€Å"Okay. Face east.† She rotated a finger at him. â€Å"Here, take the binoculars. Look at that line of fir trees on the horizon. Now pan up †¦Ã¢â‚¬ She gavehim directions, rapping them out like a drill sergeant. â€Å"Now do you see a bright disk with a kind of smudgeall around it?† â€Å"Um. Yeah.† â€Å"That's Andromeda. Another galaxy.But if you tried to look at it through a telescope, you couldn't seeit all at once. Looking through a telescope is like looking at the sky through a soda straw. That's all the field of view you get.† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†All right. Okay. Point taken.† He started to lower the binoculars. â€Å"Look, could we suspend the starwatching for just a minute? I wanted to talk toyou â€Å"Want tosee the center of ourgalaxy?† Mary -Lynnette interrupted. â€Å"Turn south.† She did everything but physically make him turn.She didn't dare touch him. There was so much adrenaline racing through her system already-if shemade contact she might go supercritical and explode. â€Å"Turn,† she said. He shut his eyes briefly, then turned, bringing the binoculars up again. â€Å"You have to look in the constellation Sagittarius.† She rattled off instructions. â€Å"See that? That's where the center of the Milky Way is. Where all the star clouds are.† â€Å"How nice.† â€Å"Yes, it is nice. Okay, now go up and eastyou should be able to find a little dim sort of glow†¦.† â€Å"The pink one?† She gavehim a quick look. â€Å"Yeah, the pink one.Most people don't see that. That's the Trifid Nebula.† â€Å"What are those dark lines in it?† Mary-Lynnette stopped dead. She forgot her drill sergeant manner. She stepped back. She stared at him. She could feel her breath coming quicker. He lowered the binoculars and looked at her. â€Å"Something wrong?† â€Å"They're dark nebulae. Lanes of dust in front of the hot gas. But †¦ you can't see them.† â€Å"I just did.† â€Å"No. No. You can't see those. It's not possible, notwith binoculars. Even if you had nine millimeter pupils †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She pulled the flashlight out of her pocket and trained it full in his face. â€Å"Hey!† He jerked back, eyes squeezing shut, hand over them. â€Å"That hurt!† But Mary-Lynnette had already seen. She couldn't tell what color his eyes were right now, because the colored parts, the irises, were reduced to almost invis ible rings. His eye was all pupil.Like a cat's at maxi mum dilation. Oh, my God †¦the things he must be able tosee. Eighth-magnitude stars, maybe ninth-magnitude stars. Imagine that, seeing a Mag 9 star with yournaked eye. To see colors in the star clouds-hot hy drogen glowing pink, oxygen shining green-blue. To see thousands more stars cluttering the sky .. . â€Å"Quick,† she said urgently. â€Å"How many stars doyouseein the sky right now?† â€Å"I can't seeanything,†he said in a muffled voice, hand still over his eyes. â€Å"I'mblind.† â€Å"No, I meanseriously,†Mary-Lynnette said. And she caught his arm. It was a stupid thing to do. She wasn't thinking. But when she touched his skin, it was like completing a current. Shock swept over her. Ash dropped hishand and looked at her. For just a second they were face-to-face, gazes locked. Something like lightning trembled betweenthem. Then Mary-Lynnette pulled away. I can'ttakeany more of this. Oh, God, why am Ieven standing here talking to him? I've got enough ahead of me tonight. I've got abody to find. â€Å"That's it for the astronomy lesson,† she said, holding out a hand for the binoculars. Her voice was justslightly unsteady. â€Å"I'm going up the hill now.† -240She didn't ask wherehe was going. She didn't care, as long as it was away. He hesitated an instant before giving her the binoculars, and when he did he made sure not to touchher. Fine, Mary-Lynnette thought. We both feel the same. â€Å"Goodbye.† â€Å"Bye,† he said limply. He started to walk away. Stopped, his head lowered. â€Å"What I wanted to say †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well?† Without turning, he said in a flat and perfectly composed voice, â€Å"Stay away from my sisters, okay?† Mary-Lynnette was thunderstruck. So outragedand full of disbelief that she couldn't find words. Then she thought: Wait, maybe he knows they're killers and he's trying to protect me. Like Jeremy. Around the sudden constriction in her throat she managed to say, â€Å"Why?† He shook his drooping head. â€Å"I just don't thinkyou'd be a very good influence on them. They'rekind of impressionable, and I don't want them getting any ideas.† Mary-Lynnette deflated. I should have known, shethought. She said, sweetly and evenly, â€Å"Ash? Get bent and die.†

An editorial about the writings of Ida B. Wells Essay Example for Free

An editorial about the writings of Ida B. Wells Essay Ida B. Wells wrote the three pamphlets â€Å"Southern Horrors† (1892), â€Å"A Red Record† (1895), and â€Å"Mob Rule in New Orleans† (1900) as an attempt to publicize the atrocities being committed against African Americans in the New South. These writings are important today, not because lynching of African Americans occurs with any regularity, but because they are accounts contemporary with the events they detail and because the pamphlets illustrate the dangers of: mob rule, justifying immoral acts by claiming to have a moral purpose, and the tendency of people everywhere to strike out against anything new or different with violence. This message is even more relevant today when the current president is so willing to suspend the rights of others so that the people of America can be â€Å"safe†. The fear of one group of people who mistrust another group should never result in suspension of rights of another. Just like the eroding of the rights of African Americans during the time when Wells was writing, the suspension of rights of people who look as if they are or might be terrorists in the current world is wrong and should not be tolerated. Ida B. Wells wrote with two purposes in mind: one was educational, the other was to publicize the atrocities committed in the New South with the hope of eliciting reaction from people who would then help bring an end to â€Å"Lynch Law† and other injustices committed against African Americans. Wells wanted to educate those people who were unfamiliar with the New South regarding the violence and double standards far to common in the South. Wells wrote to tell the facts about lynchings in the South so that people would no longer believe lynching was a response to an egregious crime. â€Å"She sought to recast lynching in the public eye so that it was not perceived as an understandable though unpleasant response to heinous acts, but as itself a crime against American values† (Wells 27). According to Wells the perception that all white women were pure and uninterested in have African Americans as husbands is untrue, â€Å"there are many white women in the Sought who would marry colored men if such an act would not place them at once beyond the pale of society and within the clutches of the law† (Wells 53). At the same time laws forbade African American men and white women from â€Å"commingling,† Wells points out â€Å"they leave the white man free to seduce all the colored girls he can† (Wells 53). Although Wells writing centers on lynching because of alleged rape she makes an important point when she cautions that â€Å"a concession of the right to lynch a man for any crime, . . . concedes the right to lynch any person for any crime, . . . † (Wells 61). Wells also wanted to call citizens of the North, government officials and people in Great Britain to act to end lynch law. She urged them â€Å"employ boycott, emigration and the press . . . to stamp out lynch law . . . † (Wells 72). Ida B. Wells wrote to three different audiences. To those people living in the New South Wells wrote not so much about horrific events that occurred, but about the justifications they used to excuse their behavior. As mentioned above, she wrote of the double standard between the races and of the potential danger of expanding lynching to suit the whims and fancies of any mob at any time. To those Americans living outside the South Wells wrote to shock them with the descriptions of the horrid events, to educate them about how African Americans were still being treated despite the Civil War and despite the Constitutional Amendments guaranteeing rights to African Americans. Wells writes to the people of the North to show them that all is not well in the South and that the advances made in the past were being pushed aside. In her first pamphlet, â€Å"Southern Horrors,† Wells wrote about the existing injustices and ongoing terrorist acts performed against African Americans. To the rest of the world, particularly Great Britain, Wells wrote â€Å"A Red Record† she â€Å"respectfully submitted [this pamphlet] to the Nineteenth Century civilization in ‘the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave† (Wells title page). This pamphlet recounts the numbers and details of more than four hundred lynchings occurring in the United States against African Americans. Wells hoped to appeal to the sensibilities of British people who were potential investors in the South so they would invest elsewhere â€Å"the appeal to the white man’s pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience. † To those in power in the United States Wells wrote â€Å"Mob Rule in New Orleans† to those in power in hopes of their bringing to an end to authorities who allow, and at times encourage mobs to act. Although it is difficult to quantify what the actual affects of Wells’ writing were, it is clear that during the next century, the groups she wrote for did make great strides toward establishing equality and eliminating injustices based on race. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Wells’ writing had a hand in starting this process. Wells’ writings are certainly among the earliest of Post-reconstruction writing to reintroduce the difficulties of African American lives, but they were not the last. It is likely that her writing influenced and encouraged others to continue the work Wells began. As I read through the accounts of these horrible, disgusting lynchings I felt saddened and depressed. Clearly there were many injustices committed and many were people hurt, imprisoned, or killed. Some of these are particularly gruesome such as Chapter III of A Red Record, â€Å"Lynching Imbeciles: An Arkansas Butchery† where Henry Smith was tortured and burned at the stake (Wells 88-98). According to figures gathered by the NAACP (an organization with Wells as one of the founding members) there were 3,318 African Americans killed by lynching between 1892 and 1931. Certainly one cannot dismiss or excuse these egregious acts in any fashion. However I was not particularly surprised or shocked by these events. Perhaps it is because I live in a world where the Jewish Holocaust of World War II is well known, a world where a country, Cambodia, went mad, and slaughtered between 1. 5 and 3 million of 7 million its own citizens. Perhaps it is because I live in a world where the recent genocides in Rwanda and Somalia were largely unknown until made into a wide screen blockbuster movie. Perhaps it is because of the 9/11 attacks (coincidentally the number killed on 9/11 and the number of dead American soldiers in Iraq are remarkably similar to the 3300+ listed in the NAACP’s figures). For whatever reason, I find myself somewhat inured against these accounts. I am not sure whether this reveals more about me or about the society I live in, but I cannot help but wonder if Ida B. Wells were writing today would there be any impact at all.Perhaps not: more’s the pity. Works Cited Wells, Ida B. Southern Horrors and Other Writings: The Anti-Lynching Campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900. Ed. with intro Jacqueline Jones Royster. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. An editorial about the writings of Ida B. Wells. (2017, Apr 22).

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Problem Answer to Law of Evidence Question

Problem Answer to Law of Evidence Question In this coursework I have paid particular attention on the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999(YJCEA) , Criminal Justice Act 2003 , Code D of PACE 1984 Code of Practice and cases such as Turnbull [1977] , R v Hanson [2005] , R v Vye [1993] and other relevant cases in order to solve this problem question based on criminal proceedings and interpret the statutes , the general rule and exceptions of hearsay evidence ,apply the case laws and critically evaluate and analyses them. In this given set of facts we need to discuss and apply the legal rules of evidence in the context of criminal proceedings specifically witness competence compellability, good character bad character, general rules of hearsay evidence and its exceptions with the proper application of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 ( YJCEA) and Criminal Justice Act 2003 and relevant cases , journals , articles . According to the facts Thomas is only 11 years old who saw two men putting electrical equipment into the boot of a white van. He along with Harry Jones identified Adam King as one of the men they saw at a video identification procedure .Now we need to focus on mainly whether Thomas is really competent to give evidence and even if he can, what type of evidence he will provide .As a child under 14 Thomas must give unsworn evidence.[1] In this essence the test for sworn testimony is set out in R v Hayes[2] which is unnecessary in this scenario .However, in R v MacPherson[3] the Court of Appeal held that a 5 years old child is competent in giving witness .Moreover, the evidence of children under 14 is to be given unsworn and that a child’s evidence must be revived unless it appears to the court that the child is incapable of understanding questions put to him and unable to give answers which can be understood.[4]The court must decide not whether he is competent on grounds of age b ut whether he is capable of giving intelligible evidence .It is submitted that a normal 11 years old child would be .The witnesses credibility and reliability are relevant to the weight to be given to his evidence and might well from the basis of a submission of no case to answer but they are not relevant to competence [5] . In delivering the judgment of the Court of Appeal in R v Sed[6] Auld LJ pointed out that section 53 does not expressly provide for 100% comprehension and in this case the Court of Appeal was much influenced by the earlier decision in R v D .[7]Allowance should be made on the witness’s performance .In this fact it may vary according to the subject matter of the questions, on the length of time between the events referred to by the witness and the date of the questioning and on any strong feelings that those events may have caused [8] as to whether Thomas is really competent to give evidence or not .Moreover according to the statute there is no minimum age for children’s to give evidence.[9] In this fact, Thomas’s parents informed the CPS that Thomas is nervous about giving evidence in court .In relation with this there is a possibility to use of Special Measures like to use screens[10], live link [11] , video recorded evidence in chief [12] , evidence to be given in private [13] by the prosecution.In this case the court can interview the child witness[14] and it could be a video interview if necessary [15] .It may be considered that Thomas might encounter special difficulty in testifying .Under section 16 (1) (b) and section 16 (2) of the YJCEA 1999[16] may give evidence by means such as live video link or pre – recording . In R ( On the application of D ) v Camberwell Green Youth Court [17] the Divisional Court held that special measures provisions , here involving children , were compatible with article 6 ( 3 ) ( a ) of European Convention of Human Rights [18] which embodies the defendant’s right ‘ to examine or have examined witnesses again st him’ .As person under 18 Thomas may also be eligible for special Measures Directions .Under section 21 ( 1 ) ( a ) of the Youth Justice Act and Criminal Evidence Act 1999(YJCEA)[19] as amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 , the primary rule in requiring admission of a video interview as examination in chief and cross examination through a live link or video link [20]at trial , applies to all witnesses under 18 , regardless of the nature of the offence . However , under section 21 if the court determines that under the primary rule special measures would minimize the quality of the witness’s evidence then court can consider a screen which will be open for Thomas to elect to give oral evidence in chief or testify in the courtroom rather than using the live link or pre recorded police video [21].Under section 21 (4C) of YJCEA 1999 the court will consider some factors [22].Although Thomas is not in an age where he might be expected to be able to give live testim ony as he is nervous in giving evidence in court according to the facts but he may be accompanied by an adult to provide support for example his mother who have no personal involvement in this case . Now we need to assess the admissibility of the identification evidence against George Smith .It mainly deals with Code D of PACE 1984 Codes of Practice.[23]Breaches of Code D sometimes can result in the exclusion of identification evidence under s.78 (1) of PACE. Because failure to comply with the provision in CODE D can affect the reliability of the evidence and reliability is an important consideration in the application of s.78(1).An important case on the consequences of non-compliance with the provisions of Code D is R vGorja (Ranjit)[24].Moreover if Code D do not justify the exclusion of identification evidence, they may require appropriate warnings to be given to the jury [25] .In order to avoid mistaken identification of a defendant by prosecution witnesses the Court of Appeal recommended a new approach by trial judges to deal with the problems of identification in Turnbull[26].The directions in this case only apply whenever the prosecution case depends ‘wholly or substa ntially ’on the correctness of one or more identifications of the defendant, and the defence alleges that the identifying witnesses are mistaken and in this case the prosecution substantially depends on the correctness on the identification of George. According to Shand v The Queen[27] the prosecution may argue that the Turnbull direction must be given where identification is based on recognition. Moreover, one witness Thomas already mistaken to identify George [28].But sometimes Turnbull is not required when a witness failed to recognize the suspect [29] and Thomas failed to recognize George.[30]In R v Forbes[31] it was held that the breach of Code D did not require the evidence to be excluded under section 78 of PACE. However , in this fact , Thomas failed to identify George[32].Moreover , George denied that he was involved in burglary[33].It could be argue that the identification procedure under Code D paragraph 3.12 is not necessary in this fact .In R v Turnbull[34] ,the Court of Appeal (CA) laid down guidelines for the treatment of the identification evidence where the case depends wholly or substantially on the correctness of the identifications. The guidelines make it clear that the judge should remind the jury of any weakness in the identification evidence and that the judge should withdraw the case from the jury unless there is any other evidence which will support the identification evidence and in this fact there is another witness named Harry who confirmed and recognized George[35] .In this fact it is highly likely that the prosecution will be able to argue that identification of evidence against George Smith is admissible. The next issues to be consider Adam King’s previous convictions for assault, robbery and burglary . Evidence of a witness’s bad character did not have to amount to proof of a lack of credibility on the part of the witness.[36] This question is concern with rules relating to the admissibility of defendants bad character and also the fairness of the changes made by CJA 2003. In this regard the Law Commission reports on bad character in 2002.[37] The common law recognized the way in which evidence of character could be relevant. It could make allegations against a defendant more likely be true but the trial should not be used to investigate the truth of a previous allegation. [38]Sec-101 of CJA 2003 states that in criminal proceedings evidence of defendants bad character is admissible if one of the factors from sub-section 101(1) (a)-101(1)(g) is satisfied [39].In this regard we need to consider the three fold test in R v Hanson[40]which is laid down by the Court of Appeal . In this case the propensity[41] to commit the offence is relied on as the basis for admitting evidence of a defendant’s bad character.[42] The prosecution now may argue that his previous convictions is relevant to an important matter in this trial[43] .But previous convictions for offences of the same description or category does not automatically mean that they should be admitted[44].Adam King’s bad character might be admissible by the courts as the defendant has a propensity to committee offences of this kind because a single previous conviction can be sufficient to establish propensity[45] .Moreover in Isichei[46]where the defendant’s propensity[47] to supply cocaine was relevant to the issue of identification. In this issue we need to discuss as to how should the judge direct the jury about George Smith’s character .In this fact George Smith already denied that he have any involvement in the burglary and he don’t even have any previous conviction .Similarly in R v Aziz[48] the house of Lords held that a person with no previous convictions was generally to be treated as being of good character[49] and in this fact it could argue that George have good character .Whenever a evidence of good character is given , its significance must be explained to the Jury .The Court of Appeal laid down two limbs in R v Vye[50]. In this fact it could easily argue that the judge will direct the jury based on the Vye direction about George’s character.However , there were some problems in Vye direction like if someone plead guilty in any other county then he is no longer of good character but in this fact it is already apparent that George don’t have any previous conviction .Moreove r ,in R v M (CP)[51] it was held that once the judge decided that the defendant should be treated as a person of good character then the full Vye direction on good character should be given as it is a matter of law .The prima facie rule of practice is to deal with this by giving a qualified Vye direction rather than no direction at all.[52] According to R v Doncaster[53] it can easily argue that if the defendant has no previous conviction but bad character evidence is given under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 then a modified direction should be given .From the above discussion it can easily argue that the judge in this scenario should direct the jury about George Smith’s character with Vye direction because it is the prima facie rule or practice.[54] Now we need to discuss the issue as to whether the persecution will be permitted to adduce the written statement[55] of Harry who is moving to New Zealand .From this issue it is apparent that we need to consider the statement as hearsay evidence which is defined as a statement made outside off the court with the purpose of showing that the statement is true.[56]But generally in criminal cases hearsay is inadmissible which is also affirmed by Lord Normand in Teper v R [57].Moreover in Myers v DPP[58] it was held that a contemporaneous record made by workers in a motor car factory of cylinder block and chassis numbers was held to be inadmissible hearsay.In this fact , we need to focus if the prosecution made a written statement from Harry then whether it will be admissible[59].In this scenario , Harry was outside of UK[60] and in relating with these sort of issue the Law Commission introduced a ‘reasonable practicability ‘ test which require the party wishing to adduce the evidence to make reasonable efforts to bring the witness to court but the court will take into account some factors such as the seriousness of the case and the importance of the information contained in the statement.[61]Moreover , in R v Castillio and Others [62] it was held that it was not reasonably practicable for the witness to attend and important consideration was given to the evidence given by the witness.The prosecution also argue that it falls within the exception of the general rule as the witness Harry moved outside of UK[63] and it was beyond reasonable doubt[64].From the above discussion it is highly likely that the prosecution will be able to adduce the written statement of Harry at the trial. Total Word Count = 3208 Bibliography: Primary sources: Text Book: Dennis .I.H , The Law of Evidence ,3rd Edition ,Sweet Maxwell 2007 Durston . G , Evidence Text Materials , 2nd Edition , Oxford University Press2011 Allen , C , Practical Guide to Evidence , 4th Edition, Routledge . Cavendish 2008 Choo , A.L-T , Evidence , 3rd Edition , Oxford University Press Spencer,J.R and Flin,R ,The Evidence of Children : The Law and the Psychology (2nd edition, Blackstone , London 2003) H.Phil , Blackstone’s Statutes on Evidence ,12th Edition 2012 Guidance for Vulnerable or Intimidated Witness , including children (â€Å"The Memorandum 2002) Spencer,J.R. and Flin , R , The Evidence of Children : The Law and the Psychology (2nd edition), Blackstone , London 2003 Emson, R. Evidence. (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) fifth edition Munday, R. Evidence. (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2011) sixth edition Roberts, P. and A. Zuckerman Criminal evidence. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) second edition Tapper, C. Cross Tapper on evidence. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) twelfth edition Statute: Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 ( YJCEA) Criminal Justice Act 2003 European Convention of Human Rights the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 Code D of PACE 1984 Journals : The Law Commission report (2002) Ho, H.L. ‘Similar facts in civil cases’ (2006) 26 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 131. Munday, R. ‘Case management, similar fact evidence in civil cases, and a divided law of evidence’ (2006) 10 International Journal of Evidence and Proof 81–103. Munday, R. ‘What actually constitutes evidence of â€Å"bad character’’’ Munday, R. ‘Single act propensity’ (2010) 74 The Journal of Criminal Law 127(reviews cases where the Crown has sought to adduce only single acts of misconduct, in order to ascertain how expansively or restrictively the courts interpret the bad character provisions). Redmayne, M. ‘Criminal evidence: The relevance of bad character’ (2002) 61 CLJ 684–714. Code of Practice for the Identification of Persons by Police Officers (Code D) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Devlin Report: ‘Evidence of identification in criminal cases’ (1976) Roberts, A. ‘Eyewitness identification evidence: procedural developments and the ends of adjudicative accuracy’ (2008) 6(2) International Commentary on Evidence. Ormerod, D. and D. Birch ‘The evolution of exclusionary discretion’ (2004) Crim LR 767. Article: The Law Commission (EVIDENCE OF BAD CHARACTER IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS Report on a reference under section 3(1)(e) of the Law Commissions Act 1965 ) EVIDENCE LAW CHARACTER AND CREDIBILITY (February 1997 Wellington, New Zealand ) Bird.J , Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review (2014) Birch.D , ‘ A Better Deal for Vulnerable Witnesses?’[2000] Crim L.R 223 Creighton,P.’Spouse Competence and Compellability’[1990] Crim LR 34 Hoyano,L.C.H,’Striking a Balance between the Rights of Defendants and Vulnerable Witnesses : Will Special Measures Direction Contravene Guarantees of a Fair Trial?’ Hoyano,L.C.H,’Coroners and Justice Act 2009 :Special Measures Directions Take 2 : Entrenching Unequal Access to Justice’[2010] Crim LR 345 Durston,G ,’Bad Character Evidence and Non party Witnesses under the Criminal Justice Act 2003’ (2004) 8 E P 233 Goudkamp.J ,’Bad Character Evidence and Reprehensible Behaviour’ (2008) E P 116 Law Commission Consultation Paper ,’Evidence in Criminal Proceedings : Previous Misconduct of a Defendant’(CP 141) (London , 1996) Law Commission Report No 273 (Cm 5257),’Evidence of Bad Character in Criminal Proceedings’ (London , 2001) Mirfield,P ,’ Character , Credibility and Untruthfulness’(2008) 124 LQR 1 Spencer,J.R ,Evidence of Bad Character (Hart , London,2010) Byron (1999) The Times, 10 March and Gayle [1999] 2 Cr App R 130 David Ormerod’s commentary in [2011] Crim LR 10, 793–798 Dennis, I. ‘The right to confront witnesses: meanings, myths and human rights’ [2010] Crim LR 4, 255–74. Mirfield, P. ‘Character and credibility’ [2009] Crim LR 3, 135–51 Redmayne, M. ‘Recognising propensity’ [2011] Crim LR 3, 177–98 Munday, R. ‘Single act propensity’ [2010] J Crim L 74(2), 127–44 Law Commission No 245 , 1997 , para 8.39 Roberts, P. and A. Zuckerman, ‘Implied assertions and the logic of hearsay’ Birch, D. ‘Interpreting the New Concept of Hearsay’ (2010) CLJ 72. Common Laws: R v Hayes [1977] 1 WLR 234 R v MacPherson [2005] EWCA Crim 3605 R v Sed[2004] EWCA Crim 1294 R v D [2002] 2 Cr App R 36 R v K [2006] EWCA Crim 472 R v Powell [2006] EWCA Crim 3 R ( On the application of D ) v Camberwell Green Youth Court [2003] EWHC Admin 22 R v Gorja (Ranjit) [2010] EWCA Crim 1939 R v Forbes [2001] 1 All ER 686 Turnbull [1977] QB 224 Shand v The Queen [1996] 1 WLR 69, 72 R v Nicholson [2000] 1 Cr App R 182 Thornton [1995] 1 Cr App R 578 and Slater [1995] 1 Cr App R 584 R v Oscar [1991] Crim LR 778 Limburne and Bleasdale [1994] Crim LR 118. R v Caldwell [1993] 99 Cr App R 73 R v Hanson [2005] 1 WLR 3169 Tully and Wood (2007) 171 JP 25 R v McDonald[ 2007] EWCA Crim 1194. Isichei [2006] EWCA Crim 1815 R v Aziz [1996] AC 41 R v Vye(1993) 97 Cr App R 134. Teper v R [1952] AC 480 at 486 Myers v DPP [1965] AC1001 R v Castillio and Others [1996] 1 Cr App R 438 R v Bray [1988] 88 Cr App R 354 R v Acton Justices ex p McMullen 1990 92 Cr App R 98 Electronic Sources: www.lexisnexis.co.uk www.westlaw.co.uk www.gov.co.uk www.guardian.co.uk www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police/operational-policing/pace-codes/pace-code-d-2011 www.officialdocumentsgov.uk/document/hc1011/hc08/0829/0829.pdf 1 [1] Section 56(1) (2) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [2] [1977] 1 WLR 234 [3] [2005] EWCA Crim 3605 [4] Section 53 (3) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [5] R v MacPherson [2005] EWCA Crim 3605 , [2006] 1 Cr App R 30 [6] [2004] EWCA Crim 1294 [7] [2002] 2 Cr App R 36 [8] Paragraph 45 – 46 where there is a danger that a complainant may be incompetent , the judge will usually before the trial have seen a video recording of the complainant’s interview with the police and so will be in some position to make a decision about competence after hearing submissions from prosecution and defence under Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 , section 27 [9] Section 53(1) 0f Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [10] Section 23 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 and R v Brown [2004] EWCA Crim 1620 [11] Section 24 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [12] Section 27 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [13]Section 25 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 [14] Guidance for Vulnerable or Intimidated Witness , including children (â€Å"The Memorandum 2002) and it is also available in www.cps.gov.uk [15] Rv K [2006] EWCA Crim 472 , R v Powell [2006] EWCA Crim 3 [16] Section 16 ( 1 ) ( b) of YJCEA 1999 states that if the court considers that the quality of evidence given by the witness is likely to be diminished by reason of any circumstances falling within subsection ( 2 ) like section 16 ( 2 ) ( a ) states that the witness suffers from mental disorder within the meaning of Mental Health Act 1983 . [17] [2003] EWHC Admin 22 [18] Article 6 (3) ( a ) of ECHR states that everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: (a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him; [19] Section 21 (1) ( a) of YJCEA 1999 states that a witness in criminal proceedings is a ‘child witness’ if he is an eligible witness by reason of section 16 ( 1 ) ( a) of YJCEA states that whether or not he is an eligible witness by reason of any other provision of section 16 or 17 of YJCEA [20] R v Camberwell Green Youth Court [2005] 1 WLR 393 [21] R v Powell [ 2006] 1 Cr App R 31 [22]Under section 21 (4C) of YJCEA 1999 the court will consider some factors such as (a) the child’s age and maturity , (b) the child’s ability to understand the consequence of giving evidence in a different way , (c) the relationship between the witness and the accused , (d) the child’s social and cultural background and ethnic origins and (e) the nature and alleged cir

Eco Friendly Housing

Eco Friendly Housing Eco-Friendly Housing Chapter 1 General Information 1.1 Introduction Environment is being abused by some. Trees are being cut down for their business. The consequence of their actions is affecting the safety of the people in earth. Because of the extreme usage and wasting of our environmental resources our ecosystem has become compromised. This paper involves reasons why there is an increase in eco-friendly housing. It involves the study of the factors as well as the life cycle cost. The paper also includes the beginning of eco friendly houses and the increasing number of eco friendly houses. With stringent measures planned by the government to ensure greater energy efficiency and a reduction in the demand for water and electricity, it seems energy efficient eco houses are the way to the future. (Nini and Mokoena, 2008). The impact we have impaled on our earths environment can no longer be ignored. There have been thousands of acres of woodlands reaped for the use of only a few houses. Leftovers from construction projects and homes demolished to place new homes on land purchased are ending up in our landfills to only sit there for thousands of years, poisoning our earth painfully, a little at a time. This poisoning will affect not only the planet for us but for centuries to come. Many people have found come to believe that our earth is worth more to them as a whole, rather than as a part and have started taken part in recycling projects, even getting into building recycled homes from earth, eco-friendly homes.(Prior, 2005). We will be able to evaluate the importance of eco friendly houses in UK. It is claim by others that houses comprises the biggest demand for wood; therefore they are one of the destroyers of the environment. Enable to prevent such destruction UK government are studying the implementation of the eco-friendly law. Today eco friendly awareness and the understanding of renewable energy are paramount in the future of our planets survival. Many households around the UK are starting to realise that changes in the way we run our homes and the products we use in them need to adapt in order to help prevent further climate change. The reason for promoting eco friendly houses is really quite important. We need to live more lightly on the earth, because the degradation of our environment comprises not only our survival, but the survival of most other living beings on the planet. It is now evident the impact of earths ecosystems. Studies and reaches are increasing to be able to evaluate how bad our environment is. Builders and other construction company are now engaging on the campaign to build eco-friendly houses. Building an eco-friendly house involves proper choice of materials to be used. How we build our homes, both in design and choice of materials, is one of the most significant ways that we can affect our future. What is an eco- friendly house? Eco-friendly houses are those that were designed from the ground up to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly. 1.2 Aims and Objectives As one-third of the UKs carbon emissions come from homes, rules on how our homes are built and maintained have become stricter. Builders have had to make changes in design, materials, building methods and energy efficiency in order to adhere to the new, tougher regulations. Below is an example of eco friendly house. Sample of an eco-friendly house Source: http://www.cleanairgardening.com/houseplan.html This dissertation aims is to investigate the effects of housing upon the environment and the factors that need to be implemented to make the construction ECO friendly within the UK. Also the Life cycle costing will be presented to find the cost difference between general construction and ECO friendly development. As a whole this paper will evaluate the importance of having a sticker standard in building new houses. There are some who may think that this will be very costly, question about the cost will be answered in the later part of the paper. It is also the objective of this paper to enumerate the usefulness of having an eco friendly house. Construction Companies is now joining the team of architects who are now designing eco-friendly houses. 1.3 Research and Methodology This dissertation aims to determine the effects of housing upon the environment. To be able to assess the effects we will be doing qualitative researches why such effects exist. The reason will be analyzed to evaluate how it will affect the building of houses. In order to do this, a research work was done using the internet, journals and books as our resources. It also aims to identify the factors that need to be implemented to make the construction ECO friendly within the UK. Using a qualitative method of research we will try to show the effects and factors by presenting studies and approaches done about Eco- friendly housing. In the literature review the review on the current policy done by the National Housing, planning consultants, and EDAW are discussed. The review of policy has come up with the results to further promote the construction of Eco friendly housing. Also in the literature review are the principles involve in building Eco friendly houses, established by Building Biology and Ecology Institute of New Zealand (BBE). The dissertation also includes design and costing of the eco friendly houses and the conventional style of houses. There is a great difference on the design and materials used. The reason on why these where designed this why will be explained as you go along with the paper. This dissertation will have a clear view of the stand of UK government on encouraging architects and designer to create an eco friendly house. 1.4 Summary of Dissertation Chapter 1 of this paper includes the introduction, aims and objective of the study and the methodology used. In the introduction eco friendly houses are defined including the picture of how eco friendly house looks like. In the article of Joseph Rowentree Foundation, focus was to lessen the impact of housing in the environment. National Housing Week, planning consultants, EDAW, reviewed current policy and practice and convened three working seminars to highlight key trends and initiatives in the UK and in Europe as a whole. The reviewed of the policy was done because of the emerging consensus that a more sustainable approach to our environment is required. The way in which housing is located, built and maintained has a profound impact on the environment. The result of the reviewed are as follows: (www.jrf.org.uk). There is no pressure or requirement in the UK to design houses which minimise the use of non-renewable building materials, conserve energy or reduce water consumption. The UK lags far behind other European countries in finding ways of reducing housings impact on the environment. It is almost impossible for consumers to judge the environmental credentials of individual houses. The building industry is not required to give such information to consumers, nor are they or local authorities making any attempt to do so. The location of new developments and the physical layout of neighbourhoods influence car use. Several initiatives in Europe have made real progress in reducing car travel. Few local authorities in the UK have made much progress on this front. A wide range of effective, but small-scale local initiatives are under way in the UK and in the rest of Europe. However, the combined impact of these initiatives in the UK does not add up to any significant change in practice. The researchers conclude that significant changes are needed in central and local government policies and in the behaviour of developers and consumers if future investment in housing is to become more sustainable. The impact of housing in the environment depends on the way the housing is built, maintained and used. The location of any new development and its relationship to existing developments are important in minimising the effect. Below are the ways on what to do to lessen the effect in the environment Use of non-renewable resources Policies governing the design, construction and renovation of housing do not impose any requirement through legislation, regulation or fiscal incentives to minimise the use of non-renewable resources. There is no pressure to use designs which minimise the use of non-renewable material, re-cycled materials or materials which use less energy to manufacture. Energy consumption Energy consumption in houses accounts for 30 per cent of the UKs total energy consumption each year. UK houses perform poorly by comparison with the rest of Europe. On average UK homes consume more than 10 times the energy consumed by state-of-the-art houses being built elsewhere in Europe. Changes in the building regulations requiring improved standards of energy efficiency in new houses do not match the standards being achieved elsewhere in Europe. No regulation addresses energy-efficiency standards in existing houses. Ninety per cent of the current housing stock will still exist in 2020; significant investment in achieving higher standards of energy conservation in this stock, through insulation and double glazing, would bring major environmental benefits. Water consumption One-third of the water abstracted in England and Wales is consumed by households. Two-thirds of this drinking water is used to flush WCs, wash clothes or dishes and for bathing. Except when there are water shortages there is no expectation that households will conserve or re-cycle water. There is no consumer expectation or commitment from housebuilders to design homes in ways that conserve water. The location of new housing The Department of the Environment forecasts that there will be an increase of 4.4 million households in Britain between 1991 and 2016. The location and characteristics of these houses will have a major impact on Britains progress to achieving a more sustainable environment. There is wide-spread agreement that more houses should be built within existing urban areas, but scepticism that the existing planning system and fiscal policies will achieve the maximum level of development on brownfield land. No mechanism exists to translate national housing requirements into effective land allocations in each local authority area in ways which take into account the impact on the environment. In particular, regional planning mechanisms are weak. There is no effective mechanism in the planning system to ensure that housebuilders and developers first consider sites within the urban area, before seeking permission to develop on greenfield sites. Neighbourhoods All neighbourhoods have an ecological footprint. Neighbourhoods which are most compact and self-contained, with more local shopping, employment and community facilities, have a smaller footprint. One implication of this is a potential reduction in dependence on the private car. Just under a third of all car mileage travelled each year is between home and work. Road transport is responsible for 91 per cent of carbon monoxide and 51 per cent of nitrogen dioxide in the UK. Reducing the need to use the car will make a significant contribution to more sustainable neighbourhoods. Altering car-parking requirements in statutory plans and the development of housing without any provision for cars can have big effects. Initiatives on this are being undertaken in Europe:

Masculinity and Evolutionary Psychology Essay -- Gender Roles

When attempting to explain something as intangible and complex as human behavior it is difficult to devise experiments that lead to conclusive results. Sometimes complex problems are easier to solve when they are broken down into smaller pieces or into simpler problems that are more approachable. Using human evolution to explain human behavior is such an example. Evolutionary psychology reaches for the roots of human development when they were in their most basic stages to explain why people behave the way they do. Specifically, explaining human masculinity through science has been a major focus of evolutionary psychology. This paper seeks to explain why masculinity cannot be explained by sociology alone and will present evidence that certain male behavior such as aggression can be explained through evolutionary psychology and sexual selection. When considering the source of human behavior people often argue about how much human behavior is encoded genetically and how much is learned through interaction with society and the environment. This â€Å"nature versus nurture† debate arises frequently when discussing many aspects of human behavior. In an essay entitled â€Å"The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over,† Pulitzer Prize-winning professor of journalism Deborah Blum draws the conclusion that both nature and nurture must be taken into account to explain human behavior. Her conclusions are drawn principally from childhood behavior and her discussions with noted scientists. As a parent she observed that her son loved dinosaurs from the early age of two-and-a-half years old. However, she noticed that â€Å"he loved dinosaurs, but only the blood-swilling carnivores. Plant-eaters were wimps and lose... ...odern male behavior. Works Cited Blum, Deborah. â€Å"The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?† Signs of Life In the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. Crawford, Charles and Dennis L. Krebs. Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology: Ideas, Issues, and Applications. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998. Daly, Martin and Margo Wilson. â€Å"Darwinism and the Roots of Machismo.† Scientific American (2002). Kenyon, Paul. â€Å"Overview of Evolutionary Psychology and Mating Strategies.† Human Behavior and Evolution Society. 2000. University of Plymouth. 4 Apr. 2000 . Peterson, Dale, and Richard Wrangham. Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. Mariner Books, 1997.

The Pagan Origins of Christianity Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research

The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of these ideas to modern Christianity. Introduction The place and time in which Christianity developed was characterized by change and confusion in all areas of life. Political, philosophical and especially religious questions were being asked that had never been asked before, and traditional systems were not providing the answers. For nearly seven centuries, from the conquest of Alexander the Great to the establishment of Christianity as the state religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the ancient world sought these answers in the mystery-religions, independent groups worshipping in new and experimental ways. Ancient religious tradition had failed to fulfill the needs of this evolving and expanding society and these mystery-religions were a cultural expression of that need. Christianity grew into the midst of this world and was in fact the end result of the experiment started in the mystery-religions. The term, â€Å"mystery-religion† refers to various forms of worship popular in ancient t... ...d. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. King, Martin Luther Jr. â€Å"The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity.† The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume I: Called to Serve. Clayborne Carson, Ralph Luker, and Penny A. Russell, eds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. Clayborne Carson, dir. Stanford University. 1 Feb. 2002 . Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Washington: House of the Temple, 1966. Additional Works Consulted Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991. Murray, Gilbert. Five Stages of Greek Religion. New York: Doubleday, 1955.

Flannery OConnors Revelation :: Flannery OConnor Revelation

Flannery O'Connor's background influenced her to write the short story â€Å"Revelation†. One important influence on the story is her Southern upbringing. During her lifetime, Southerners were very prejudiced towards people of other races and lifestyles. They believed that people who were less fortunate were inferior to them; therefore, people were labeled as different things and placed into different social classes. The South provided O'Connor with the images she needed for her characters. This can easily be identified in her short story â€Å"Revelation.† The characters in the story are identified by physical characteristics and some are even identified with racial terms. The main character in the story is actually prejudiced and makes many statements using racial jargon. For example, Mrs. Turpin, the main character, refers to the higher class woman as â€Å"well-dressed and pleasant†. She also labels the teenage girl as â€Å"ugly† and the poor woman as â€Å"white-trashy†. When Mrs. Turpin converses with her black workers, she often uses the word â€Å"nigger† in her thoughts. These characteristics she gives her characters definitely reveals the Southern lifestyle which the author, Flannery O'Connor, was a part of. In addition to her Southern upbringing, another influence on the story is Flannery O'Connor's illness. She battled with the lupus disease which has caused her to use a degree of violence and anger to make her stories somewhat unhappy. The illness caused a sadness inside of Flannery O'Connor, and that inner sadness flowed from her body to her paper through her pen. Although she was sick, O'Connor still felt proud to be who she was. By comparison, Mrs. Turpin in â€Å" Revelation† has a good disposition about herself. She is far from perfect, yet she is happy to be who she is. Perhaps the most important influence on the story is religion. O'Connor was not only influenced by her own Catholic heritage but by others as well. Like the other writers from France and England, she is curious about the actuality of sin and the effect that it has on the presence of mankind. Her stories and every characteristic about them was Flannery O'Connor's way of showing reality and qualities that are determiners of fate and destiny. No matter which path her stories took her readers, they mostly ended up finding social truth. This background, together with a believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary devices enables Flannery O'Connor in â€Å"Revelation† to develop the theme that sometimes people must look farther than the surface in order to understand the actions of others.

Impact of Technology Essay

Information Tech has revolutionized the phase of business around the world. Local businesses have become international due to a simple website. I. T. has helped businesses in advertising. People who check their email may suddenly have a pop up at their page ends with sales up to 60% at JC Penny’s! I. T. has helped in customer service, huge corporations like Microsoft attend to customer needs through email and chat services. Networking internal and external in organizations has improved the working of businesses. Staffs and clients likewise can get in touch with the managers for feedback, progress reports and extensions. Communication has bloomed, two business organizations if they need to work together can easily do so. Hotmail, when merged with MSN was easy since the service was online. Business these days require a lot of planning, due to high tech organization systems on computers, planning can be done on an organized pattern, with schedule formats, grant charts etc. Huge databases can now be controlled and stored on network and back up drives. Accessibility of files also has become an easy task with series of password keys and shared folders. Cash transactions are easily made, delay in reduced hence giving liquidity to business. Businesses have been at the forefront of technology for ages. Whatever can speed production will draw in more business. As computers emerged in the 20th century, they promised a new age of information technology. But in order to reap the benefits, businesses needed to adapt and change their infrastructure. For example, American Airlines started using a computerized flight booking system, and Bank of America took on an automated check-processing system. Obviously, now, most business is conducted over personal computers or communication devices. Computers offer companies a way to organize dense databases, personal schedules and various other forms of essential information. As information travels faster and faster and more reliably, barriers of distance disappear, and businesses are realizing how easy it is to outsource jobs overseas. Outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring employees who work outside the company or remotely — and even halfway across the world. Companies can outsource duties such as computer programming and telephone customer service. They can even outsource fast-food restaurant service — don’t be surprised if you’re putting in your hamburger order with a fast-food employee working in a different country entirely. Outsourcing is a controversial practice, and many believe that U. S. companies who take part are hurting the job market in their own country. Nonetheless, from a business perspective, it seems like the wisest route, saving companies between 30 and 70 percent. Another technology that’s starting to revolutionize business is actually not very new — it’s just cheaper these days. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is infiltrating and changing business significantly in a few ways. Microchips that store information (such as a number equivalent of a barcode and even an up-to-date history of the chip’s travels) can be attached to product, and this helps companies keep track of their inventory. Some businesses have even begun to use RFID chip implants in humans to tighten security. An access control reader detects the chip’s signal and permits the employee access to the door. But many people are concerned about privacy issues if this were to become widespread practice. Handheld devices like Blackberries have become wildly popular for businesses because they let users check and send email from anywhere, and browse the Internet. Impact of Communication Technology on Life Think of the days when there were no computers and no modern means of transport. Human life was highly restricted due to the unavailability of technological applications. Daily life involved a lot of physical activity. Life of the common man was not as luxurious as that of modern times, but he was more active. Exercise was integrated into routine physical activities. It was contrary to the sedentary lifestyle of today, which leaves no time for exercise and fills days with inactivity and laze. Today we don’t want to, and thanks to technology, don’t even need to, walk, move around or exert physically to get things done. We have the world is at our fingertips. We think of technology as a boon to society. I am afraid; it’s not completely a boon. The Internet has bred many unethical practices like hacking, spamming and phishing. Internet crime is on the rise. The Internet, being an open platform lacks regulation. There is no regulation on the content displayed on websites. Internet gambling has become an addiction for many. Overexposure to the Internet has taken its toll. In this virtual world, you can be who you are not, you can be virtually living even after you die. Isn’t this weird? Children are spending all their time playing online and less or almost no time playing on the ground. Youngsters are spending most of their time social networking, missing on the joys of real social life. Think of the days when there were no online messengers, no emails and no cell phones. Indeed cellular technology made it possible for us to communicate over wireless media. Web communication facilities have worked wonders in speeding long-distance communication. On the other hand, they have deprived mankind of the warmth of personal contact. Emails replaced handwritten letters and communication lost its personal touch. With the means of communication so easily accessible, that magic in waiting to reach someone and the excitement that followed have vanished. Moreover, we have become excessively dependent on technology. Is so much of dependency good? Is it right to rely on machines to such an extent? Is it right to depend on computers rather than relying on human intellect? Computer technology and robotics are trying to substitute for human intellect. With the fast advancing technology, we have started harnessing artificial intelligence in many fields. Where is the digital divide going to take us? How is our ‘tomorrow’ going to be? ‘Machines replacing human beings’ does not portray a rosy picture, does it? It can lead to serious issues like unemployment and crime. An excessive use of machines in every field can result in an under-utilization of human brains. Over time, we may even lose our intellectual abilities. You know of the declining mathematical abilities in children due to use of calculators since school, don’t you? The impact of technology on society is deep. It is both positive and negative. Technology has largely influenced every aspect of living. It has made life easy, but so easy that it may lose its charm one day. One can cherish an accomplishment only if it comes after effort. But everything has become so easily available due to technology that it has lost its value. There is a certain kind of enjoyment in achieving things after striving for them. But with everything a few clicks away, there is no striving, there’s only striking. With the developments in technology, we may be able to enjoy all the pricey luxuries in life but at the cost of losing its priceless joys.