The Effect one’s Gender and Personality has on their Ability to Identif

Discussion This investigation aimed to explore gender differences and personality differences in the ability to identify the emotion and gender of a face. The expected results were that the response times produced by females for facial emotion and gender identification would be faster than the response times produced my males. It was also expected that participants categorised as extroverts via the Necker cube would produce faster response times when identifying the emotion and gender of a face. Although the results from this experiment were not significant, they did resemble what was expected. Concerning the first hypothesis, overall females obtained faster response times than males when identifying the emotion of a face, which also supports the findings of Hoffman (2010). A possible explanation for why this difference occurred could be due to the different developmental changes in brain functioning that occurs in males and females, thus different neuronal systems may be used when processing f acial aspects (Everhaurt et al, 2001). That is; when an emotional face is viewed different neural structures are activated in males and females, resulting in different mediation of attention to the facial cues (McClure, 2004). The results from the current study therefore suggests that females may utilise systems that are more sensitive and more efficient at picking up cues where stimulus information is limited, than males (Hall & Matsmoto, 2004). Results obtained by males in the emotion identification task emphasises previously found results by Mantagne (2005) that males are less accurate at judging emotion in a face, especially sadness. On the other hand, Rahmen et al (2004) stated that although women were faster at identifying emotion, th... ...nder and/or personality can affect their ability to identify the gender or emotion of a face. The results obtained suggest that females and extroverts are able to identify facial aspects such as gender and emotion quicker than males and introverts. This may be because neurological and environmental factors influence their ability to efficiently access appropriate strategies to extract cues during processing of a face. The study produced findings that are consistent with previous research however to produce more confident conclusions for this investigation further experimentation with more sensitive measures are required. Future studies could explore physiological changes and neural mechanisms that occur during facial identification in order to provide a deeper insight into differences between categorical groups during facial emotion and gender processing.

Women and Islam Essay -- Islamic Females Islam Essays

Women in Islam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Religious institution has a profound impact on any and every society. Social norms, mores, and expectations are mostly defined by our belief systems, even if we ourselves don’t practice a religion. Government too is always based on common agreement upon what is right and wrong, and who is to rule. A society can experience violent opposition and revolutions because of radical religious groups. There’s no doubt about it. In any society, small or large, primitive or modern, religious institution plays a leading role. Islam is no exception. This paper will explore three critical aspects of Islamic society. The first is Democracy. Just how incompatible is an Islamic society with democracy? Secondly, how are women treated by Islamic society? Are they treated as equal to men, and why? Lastly, is Islam conducive to human rights? Is this reflected by Islamic governments? All of these questions and more will be considered in the following. It’s definitely not the first time it’s been asked. Can Democracy really function in an Islamic society? Some say yes, some say no. But the answer doesn’t seem to be quite so black and white. The Muslim countries in the world today are all different, and all have or have had different relationships with democracy. In order to better understand the answer to this question, we must look at some of the factors that influence the relationship between Islam and Democracy. According to Daniel E. Price, there are seven major categories of influences on the relationship between Islam and Democracy. These are historical influences, regime strength, regime strategy for dealing with political Islam, Islamic political groups, modernization/economics/demographics, politicized sectarian, ethnic, linguistic, or class cleavages, and minority religious groups. In history, there have been several notable aspects of society that have influence on Muslim countries. Colonialism has obviously induced a sort of backfiring from Radical Islam, and it is for this reason that most Muslim Countries that have had a history of Colonialism have a stronger presence of Radical Islam. These countries include Algeria, Syria, and Egypt. There is a stronger lingering hostility toward ideas attributed to the West (liberalism and democracy) and Westernized classes because of their association with the former colonial overlords. (Price, ... ...rn ideology. There is nothing in the Qur’an or Sharia that actually directly confirms that these three aspects of Islamic society are exactly as we in the West perceive. The problem is that the way that Muslims interpret their scriptures is contrary and even offensive to the West and its common ideologies. Lastly, the criticism and influence from the West toward Islamic culture, in addition to historical colonialization, only intensifies their rejection of the West and its criticism, and actually seems to make the problems concerning Democracy, women, and human rights even worse. Bibliography Esposito, John L. 1980 Islam and Development: Religioni and Sociopolitical Change   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Syracuse University Press: Syracuse. Macionis, John J. 1992 Society: The Basics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lehigh Press, Inc.: New Jersey. Price, Daniel E. 1999 Islamic Political Culture, Democracy, and Human Rights: A Comparative Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Praeger Publishers: Connecticut. Spellberg, D.A. 1994 Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of A’isha Bint Abi Bakr   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Columbia University Press: New York. Turner, Bryan S. 1974 Weber and Islam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Western Printing Services Ltd: Great Britain.

Symbols and Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye Throughout the novel, the reader is presented with various symbols. The symbols are clearly made evident by Holden’s constant repetition of their importance. The symbols are so important and their symbolism is directly related to the major themes of the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Allie, Holden’s young brother who died several years earlier, was a key symbol throughout the story. When Holden remembers incidents from his past involving Allie, his attitude changes, such as when he writes the composition about Allie’s baseball glove or when Holden broke his hand after punching all of the windows after Allie died. He feels that Allie was one of the few people who were not phony in a world full of phonies. More importantly, Allie represents the innocence and childhood that Holden strives to find throughout his multi-day journey. In Holden’s opinion, Allie represents the purity that Holden looks for in the world. Holden admits that he admires Allie more than he admires Jesus, and even prays to Allie at one point, rather than Jesus. Allie is Holden’s role model, whom he judges the rest of the world according to. When Allie dies, it creates turbulence in Holden’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚   At various points during the course of the novel, Holden inquires as to what happens to the ducks who are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and the water freezes. As he inquires, the answers he receives range from as farfetched answers as the idea that the ducks still remain there under the ice, just as the fish do, to uncaring answers such as a simple "What a stupid question!" remark. Despite the answer he gets, Holden is never satisfied with the reply. Holden doesn’t consciously realize that the ducks relate to him. Whether he will admit it or not, Holden is scared. He has been kicked out of numerous schools, he can’t get good grades, his parents are angry with him, and he spends his days wandering through New York City. He doesn’t know where he is going to go, reflecting his question about the ducks. Perhaps if he knew where the ducks went, he could follow their example.   Ã‚  Ã‚   While walking through New York City, Holden arrives at the Museum of Natural History. He remarks about the museum that he likes the glass cases that the museum officials place all of their exhibits in.

Developing Effective Communication in Health & Social Care

P3 – Explain factors that may influence communication and interpersonal interactions in Health & Social Care environments. Factors that may influence communication and interpersonal interactions in a Health & Social Care environment are things such as; Setting- this is the place that you are in. To be able to communicate with someone correctly, you will need to make sure that it has all of the right things. Noise level is important because if it is too noisy then you will not be able to hear the person speak and both of you will need to shout when your speaking instead of just talking normally.Lighting is also important in where you are, this is because if it too dark then the opposite person will not be able to see you and you will not be able to see them and good eye contact is needed (if possible) in order to communicate properly and if it is dark then this will be hard. Having enough space in a room is also important as you will not want it to be small as personal space is essential and being very close to someone you hardly know could be quite awkward and tense.You shouldn’t be too close to each other, however you shouldn’t be too far from each other either as it’ll be hard to hear and speak properly. Time- time means that you should not be in the room with the service user for too long; also you should not be in there for a small period of time either. You should spend a decent amount in the room with the service user, making sure that you have covered everything and haven’t missed out anything and also making sure that the service user has told you everything you need to know; in order to help them to resolve their problem(s).Also if you keep mentioning about the time that you have left to speak to the service user then they might get annoyed and feel that you are more worried about the time than about their problems. Also rushing the service user would mean that they’ll have to speak quicker and they will not be able to explain themselves properly. There are also barriers; these are things that occur while communicating with someone. The type of communication that you have with someone will be very different for example; a difficult communication may be something that is hard to solve/ something that will take long to solve.A complex communication is when there is man parts to the story and it may be very confusing and hard to understand. The last example I will use is a sensitive communicationmay occur when someone close to that person has passed away or when someone is ill etc. P4 – Explain strategies used in Health and Social Care environments to overcome barriers to effective communication and interpersonal interactions. Language needs/preferences could be a barrier for example; if someone is trying to talk to you but you can’t understand them as they are speaking to you in a different language.This would be a barrier because if you cannot communicate with this person eff ectively then they will not be able to explain their issue/problem or just to talk to you and you will not be able to communicate back and respond to them. Strategy – You could try and overcome this problem by getting another worker to come in and translate what they’re saying in your preferred language/method; in some cases the service user may bring a family member/friend who may be able to translate for you as well.Sensory impairment is when you may not be able to view, smell, sense or say things. Therefore, coming across someone like this may affect your communication with each other. Strategy – So you should ask the person that they have come along with (if possible) to help you or you should look at their personal details and notes in order to see what their preferred language/method of communication is. Disability is also another barrier to communication, this may affect the way you talk to them as they may have difficulty moving their arms, speaking or d oing anything.Strategy – Someone with a disability will also mean that you will have to pay full attention to what they are doing and you should insure that you follow the rules and regulations so that nothing bad happens. For example; someone with dementia will need full support as they forget things and may wonder off on their own or with a stranger without realising. Personality may affect the way you communicate with each other as the person may be very aggressive and loud so you will not be able to talk to them without them shouting or suddenly becoming annoyed.Strategy – When dealing with people, you should always check their notes beforehand; this is because you will then know what type of person you are dealing with and also you will then know how to deal with this person, how to approach him/her and how to speak to them. Self-esteem Is how confident someone is in themselves, this is an important thing when communicating with someone in Health and Social Care a s the level of self-esteem can affect how quickly they recover.Strategy – Raising their level of self-esteem by making them feel at ease will make it easier for  them to recover. Anxiety is when you feel nervous or anxious about something, this is a barrier because if the service user gets nervous then they won’t speak and this will be a problem because there will be silence and the problems that the service user has will not be resolved as they will not be speaking; making it hard for the person trying to help them. Strategy – The way that you could overcome this could be to try and make the person feel at ease so that they are not nervous.You could do this by saying ‘I am here to help' or ‘I know this is hard but I will try and help you get through it'. This may make the service user feel comfortable and make them feel that they are able to talk to you; as you are there to help them. Depression is something that people get when they are under str ess. This can be a barrier to communication as the person with Depression may not want to speak or they might be too upset to explain how they feel; even though they are in need of help.This can make their situation worse because they are not letting anyone help them; however this is not their fault. Strategy – Trying to help someone with depression can be very hard; depending how bad they are. Doing activities with someone who is suffering with depression may be one strategy as they will have their mind on something else, rather than their problems. Aggression can affect the communication between two people or a group etc. This is because the person trying to help the service user will/may likely find it hard to deal with and speak to someone who is very aggressive.The aggressive person could be very angry at what is going on in their life so they will take it out on the person who is trying to help them; they may not necessarily mean what they say or do but shouting and sho wing aggressive behaviour could be the way that they deal with everything. Strategy – A way to try and deal with an aggressive person is to not fight back. If you argue back with them thenthey will argue back and it will not make anything better and the reason they are there is to get help.The reason they could be aggressive is because of something that has happened so asking them questions could get it all out of them so that you are aware of their situation. Submissiveness is someone who will just agree and go along with whatever someone is saying to them. This is a barrier because they will not actually say what they feel and they will not disagree with anything that is being said so they may be agreeing to something that they might not even want.Strategy- A way to get past an aggressive person  is to not take anything they say personally as they are just saying horrible things because of the bad situation that they are in. You should also TALK back to them instead of ar guing. Assumptions are bad in Health and Social Care; this is because if you just assume what the person is saying then you aren’t exactly listening to them because you are already thinking of a way to respond to them; without knowing if it is what they are actually saying. This is bad because the service user will obviously not get the help and support that they need.Strategy – You can get past this by actually listening to the person you are talking to properly so that you don't just assume what they're going to say. By listening, you will hear what the person is saying and you will also be able to come up with a way to solve their problem/issue etc. Value & belief systems can affect the level of communication that you have with someone. The values and beliefs that someone has can have a huge effect on the relationship you have with the service user.For example; if a Christian councillor came across a gay service user who needed help with him and his husbands marriag e, and the councillor didn’t want to speak or associate themselves with this person as it doesn’t say anything about gay marriage in the bible then this would cause big problems as the service user will not get any help and the person in need of help may feel very angry and he might even feel quite upset as the councillor is discriminating against him & gay, lesbian and bisexual people and also being homophobic.Strategy – The easiest way to get over something like this is to get a new job because if you don't agree with gay marriage then this will defiantly affect you as you will may come across 2 gay people that want to get married and discriminating against them because you don't agree with gay marriage will cause problems. Jargon is a type of slang, if the service user speaks like this when seizing help then they may not be able to get the help that they require as the person trying to help then will not understand them; meaning that they will not know what t he problem is.However, overcoming this issue could be to ask someone to translate if possible or to use a method of communication that you both understand. Strategy – Ways to get past this issue would be things such as; translators, other workers to help you out, their family/friend could help you etc. Cultural variations are differences between you and someone else, for example if someone comes to you who are from Poland and you are from the UK then there will be many differences between the two of you.These differences should not affect you in a huge way as you should be able to use many methods of communication; preferably the one that they prefer. One difference between the both of you may be the language or preferred method of communication, this will cause problems when communicating as you may not be able to understand them and they may not understand you. Strategy – A few ways to overcome this may be things like translators, sign language, written, body languag e, oral etc.Use & abuse of power is a barrier is because when you are trying to solve or help a situation that someone is going through then you will both need to give ideas, not just one of you. If only one of you is talking then the other person may have ideas that they cannot share and this would be a barrier as both people need to speak in order to share ideas and solve problems that you both agree with. Strategy – You should make sure that you are both speaking; not just one of you.Making sure that you are both talking is important, to do this you will need to make sure that you are asking questions and not just constantly talking to them because they might switch off and look like they're listening when in fact they are just bored. Effects of alcohol/drugs can mean that someone is not in their right state of mind; this means that they will not necessarily be making sense and they might also not know what they are saying. The problem with this is that the service user wi ll not be getting any help because they will not be in the right state to be serious and to be willing to sort out their problems.Strategy – Someone who comes in to speak to you about their issues could have a drink problem or a drug addiction. Ways to deal with this is to send them to Rehab so that they can try and get back on track; instead of getting worse. Whether it is an alcoholic or adrug addict, you should always take their needs into action as they could be desperate to turn their lives around before its to late. Regular check ups and phone calls will be a good idea as you can then see how the person is getting on and if they are getting the help that they require. Developing effective communication in Health & Social Care Unit 1: Developing effective communication in Health & social care Task 1 intro:Communication is at the heart of any relationship, be it familial, business, romantic, or friendly. While there have been significant advances in how we understand body language and other forms of communication, verbal communication continues to be the most important aspect of our interaction with other people. It’s important to understand both the benefits and shortcomings of this most basic communication. One-to-one communication plays a very important part in almost everyone's life. This type of communication occurs most often in face-to-face conversations and in telephone speech skills.Conversation consists of talk about various matters of common interest to both of the people involved. Conversations, unlike many other types of communication are usually not planned or rehearsed beforehand. Group communication refers to the communication between a group of people and another group of people or within the group itself. A group is normally considered as a collect ion of people that number 3 or more. This type of communication is very helpful when you need to get across the same message to more than 1 person.For example if you are a manager who is announcing a change in hours for employees shifts, then you would gather everyone together. That way it is quicker and saves you time. Also it is helpful when you want to discuss something with your team mates or business. Group debates and discussions are very popular. Formal communication is the type of communication used for important topics, usually in the arenas of business, government, diplomatic matters, scientific matters, lectures by teachers, certain types of speeches at colleges, or in seminars.It is speech which is meant to impress and to give weight and authority to the person speaking and to the subject being spoken about. It is polite speech, and uses polite language, whether in verbal or written form. Examples would be the president's inaugural speech, letters between ambassadors or consuls, an address by a college president to the school, the presentation of a scientific paper or theory at a symposium or seminar. Even in written form, a letter of resignation from a post one hold.Formal communication assumes, usually, a vertical relationship between people in that situation. Someone is the person above, in authority, and someone is the person below, dependent to some extent on that person, in that situation. Informal communication is more on a peer level. It is everyday speech, the kind of speech where you don't have to worry too much about how you couch something, because you and the other person know each other well enough not to take things wrongly. It may be concerned with important matters, but it is not on an authoritative level.It may be two people who enjoy argumentation going at it about some specific topic, or friends planning an outing, or working together on a project and talking through what and how to do it. Forms of communication ‘Verbal' m eans ‘spoken'. So, verbal communication is the messages you send with words. It's what you actually say. Non-verbal communication is the messages you send with your body. Some people call it your body language. For example: Facial expressions – smiling, frowning, raising eyebrows, eye contact Gestures – waving your hand, pointing your finger, crossing your arms Posture – the way you stand or sit.Touch – being caring you would put you hand on ones shoulder to show you care. Silence – could be a sign of anger, upset, nervousness etc. Reflective listening – nodding your head to show you understand, eye contact. Non-verbal communication also includes the tone and pitch of your voice. So, verbal communication is the words. But non-verbal communication is how you say the words. Technological communication – Text messaging, E-mail, Msn, etc. Technological aids – People who are deaf blind use many different methods of communicati on.The method chosen will depend upon the amount of sight and hearing the individual has the cause of deaf blindness and how long the person has had a sensory impairment. – Braille is for someone unable to see text well enough to read it, braille can be used to label objects and give access to books. Objects designed especially for blind and deaf blind people may already be labeled in braille. – British sign language is a visual means of communicating using gestures, facial expression, and body language.Sign Language is used mainly by people who are Deaf or have hearing impairments. Within Britain the most common form of Sign Language is called British Sign Language. British Sign Language has its own grammatical structure and syntax, as a language it is not dependent nor is it strongly related to spoken English. British Sign Language is the preferred language of between 50,000 – 70,000 people within the UK. – Communication symbols could be anything from à ¢â‚¬Å"ladies toilets sign† to â€Å"road signs†. Here are some images of communication symbols.

Dave Chappelle Satire

Dave Chappelle's comedy has made numerous aspects of American race relations and racial stereotypes subject to ridicule in a manner that has both united and divided. On one hand, his name became synonymous with comedy for the younger generations; on the other, his values caused him to question his own comedy, leading him to effectively terminate his career. In the Wake of ‘The Nigger Pixie': Dave Chappelle and the Politics of Crossover Comedy† by Bambi Haggins demonstrates that Chappelle's comedic style is the result of numerous elements of comedy in the African American community coming together and that it came about as a result of his experiences. It gives and expands upon the reasons that Chappelle left Chappelle's Show and presents them in an optimal setting.Chappelle's roots are established as guiding him through his comedic career, his desire to share his comedy with the masses without accommodating the tastes of the networks or what they would think would be †Å"palatable† to their audiences. Haggins' analysis of Chappelle's comedic style for the duration of Chappelle's Show explains how Chappelle was able to blend older styles of African American comedy into his unique comedic style by using his sketches to support her claims.Haggins knows how to blend this mixture artfully into an essay piquing the interest of others on the topic of Chappelle's career and comedic style. Haggins begins the chapter with a quick explanation of why Chappelle eventually left the show. Chappelle explains that the â€Å"loud and long laughter† (233), emanating from one of the white crew members was â€Å"the beginning of the end† (233) for him. This depicts the time in his life when he started to think that rather then diluting them, his skits sometimes reinforce these stereotypes.Something he never intended to do. The biggest thing that separated Chappelle’s show from the rest is his seamless ability to achieve the de facto crossove r consistently in his show. His gift at portraying stereotypes and social conflicts while appealing to a wider audience is what led him to the top of sketch comedy. But this soon becomes problematic for him as he struggled with himself to decide what was crossing the line. As his success gave him the ability the push the line even farther, it also reminded him how important it was to not cross the line.Another big factor that provided Chappelle with the chance he needed to really show everyone what he could do is by taking a risk with Comedy central. The Chappelle’s Show co-creator Neal Brennan explains, â€Å"We went to a place, Comedy Central, that sort of needs us and gave us a lot of freedom†¦. We didn’t get much money, but that was the trade-off-you get control† (236). This gave Chappelle the ability to reach a wide audience while still having the control of the material that goes into each show, thus promoting his real comedic self and rocketing him t o success and fame.While staying at the top Chappelle constantly was balancing on a delicate line, â€Å"Chappelle’s show walked the razor edge of provocative comedic sociopolitical discourse† (237). Haggin’s in depth analysis of both his argument and Chappelle’s descent into racial stereotyping is prevalent through his specific examples of the comedian’s sketches and then providing commentary about the concept as a whole. In his article, the author uses Chappelle’s â€Å"Racial Draft†, â€Å"Black Bush†, and â€Å"Nigger Pixie† as clear cases where racial satire went too far. The author begins with Chappelle’s background and his emergence into the television world.This is an effective rhetoric strategy because it allows the audience to see Dave Chappelle before the Chappelle’s Show. However, if one reads closely, they can clearly tell that Chappelle had never changed throughout his years of comedy and kept the â€Å"openness and fluidity†(236) in his comic persona. Haggins also points out the element that the comedian always had an ability to attract viewers from all areas and speak â€Å"for and to Gen X and Gen Y subcultures in both black and white communities† (234). This was especially evident in Chappelle’s Show and added greatly to its popularity.Finally, the method in which the author used examples by including specific skits in the â€Å"Lost Episode† where Dave Chappelle went beyond boundaries to point out the racial stereotypes that are present in everyday life is very effective. Through his fluid diction and terrific explanation of each skit, Haggins is able to â€Å"paint a picture† in words for the reader. When reading the article and each sketch that Chappelle acted out, the audience can clearly see that the comedian’s racial satire was humorous, yet lie awfully close to the reinforcement of racial stereotyping.This is the reaso n the â€Å"Nigger Pixie† sketch example is so significant. By playing a black-faced minstrel, Chappelle only emphasized the idea of harsh racism and the stereotypical black want for fried chicken. The author analyzes how numerous comedic styles from the African American community coalesced on Chappelle's Show by using specific sketches as supporting evidence. One example, Haggins' analysis of the â€Å"Reparations† sketch (Haggins 240-241), demonstrates that numerous styles blended quite clearly.Her use of the sketch, which describes the ludicrous amount of economic prosperity that would occur if reparations for slavery were given to the descendents of formerly enslaved African Americans (Haggins 240), outlines how â€Å"the ‘white' media† (Haggins 240) would report such an occurrence, and that while the sketch â€Å"[offers] a cringe-worthy embodiment of stereotypes, [it] (somewhat) congenially calls the audience out while also acting as a reminder of t he issue of reparations for the legacy of slavery that still informs aspects of the African American experience† (Haggins 241).Her demonstration of the older styles of African American comedy coming together one one television program was effective. After all of this occurred and Comedy Central aired the shows despite the wished of Chappelle, he found it impossible to continue his relationship with Comedy Central and he left the show.The argument made throughout the chapter is further solidified in the end when Haggins states, â€Å"As long as the assumptions implied by the race-baiting little demons (the Nigger Pixie and his brethren) resonate in the hidden recesses of popular consciousness-not as critique but as confirmation-the road for social satire, regardless of media outlet-will be arduous† (248). To revisit what was discussed earlier, as long as racism exists, â€Å"doing racial satire will be problematic† (248).

Youth Justice in 2011 is tougher on crime than on the causes of crime.

Introduction The aim behind this essay is to ascertain the stance adopted by the UK in terms of how governmental and judiciary authorities deal with the problem of juvenile crime. In order to gain a fuller understanding of this it would be of interest to compare the perspectives of two different political leaders and how they affected the way that juvenile crime was dealt with by authorities. On one particular weekend in August 2011 thousands of rioters took to the street and ransacked high streets in London, Manchester, Croydon and Nottingham. The original cause of the rioting was due to a shooting in Tottenham by police but it seemed to spread over the capital and on to other major cities. Shops were looted and others were burnt down over the course of a week. As a result of this, David Cameron was quick to ascertain what the causes of these riots could be. In a press conference, he suggested that: Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face†¦.Our security fightback must be matched by a social fightback (Cameron: 2011) Such was the stance eventually taken by the Coalition government as a response to the riots. A similar statement had been famously stated by Tony Blair fourteen years earlier where he specified in his election speech that Labour believed: ‘in personal responsibility and in punishing crime, but also its underlying causes – so toughon crime, tough on the causes of crime’ (Blair: 1997). However, the question remains as to whether these two politically differing views really are so different from each other. The rhetoric seems to be the same. That is, in order to be tough on the crime that it would be necessary to discover the root cause of the crime committed. The question has to be asked as to how far the existing legislation go in achieving that. According to a recent governmental report on the Youth Justice Service, ?800 million was spent on dealing with young people over the previous twelve years. Also, while 10% of that figure was spent on prevention, approximately 90% was spent on actually dealing with the offending behaviour (Soloman and Garside: 2008). Critics had seen this as a symptom of what had been wrong with Labour’s policy regarding the Youth Justice system. Indeed, the same criticism can and has been levelled at the Coalition government judging by their initial reaction to the 2011 London riots. David Cameron famously condemned the riots as being caused by pure criminality and nothing else. It was only after the initial reaction that the Government had stated that a ‘social fightback’ (Cameron: 2011) was needed as much as the ‘security fightback’ was. However, the Government’s initial reaction was soon mirrored by other members of the public and there was seen to be a lack of analytical reaction from anybody apart from a few. According to Ohana and Otten (2011): Except among a few youth experts and political commentators on the so-called ‘left’ there was little mention of or analysis involving the racist shooting that triggered the violence in the first place, or the desperate condition of the neighbourhoods in which many of the young people who rioted live†¦.Most importantly of all, there was next to no mention of the fact that whole generations of young people have simply been abandoned to the elements by an uncaring state, unwilling to see its own responsibility in creating the conditions that have made such events possible (Ohana and Otten: 2011: 244). This view corresponds with other views which also specify that it ought to be no surprise that the media and public reaction to the riots were non-analytical in their scope: Hughes (2011) specifies that: It is of little surprise that the perceptions of the public appear to resemble those presented by the media and politicians. Rather than the official crime figures, it is the stereotyping and emotive headlines that seem to have the greatest influence.’ (Hughes: 2011: 190) On the surface, this may appear to be an obvious statement to make. After all, it could be argued that the public’s reaction to the riots were understandably affected by the media coverage both during and after the riots took place.However, critics were also understandably concerned that the Government had employed a kneejerk reaction but then delayed in deciding exactly what was to be done about it (LSE and The Guardian: 2011: ‘Reading the Riots’) There was a similar response to crime in general by the Labour opposition before they took power in 1997. Blair’s Labour had responded to a resurgence in crime on the streets at the time. According to Raine and Keasey (2009), they had attempted to address the problem of crime on the streets by attempting to get at what they perceived to be the source. Numerous programs were suggested and installed once they got into power, including Surestart centres and the New Deal for the unemployed. Raine and Keasey (2009) suggested, however, that these measures only went so far in addressing the issue (Doolin: 2009: 126-127) of youth crime. It would seem that this also backs up the figures quoted earlier regarding the percentage of money spent on prevention (10%) as opposed to the money spent on catching, trying and detaining criminals (90%). It could be argued that the amount of money spent on each reflects on either the priority given to prevention of crime of respective government s or on an increased criminality in the general populace. Again, this is a stance that is maintained by Sanders (2011) who suggested that because New Labour were essentially ‘governing through ASB (anti-social behaviour)’ that there was: An ever-increasing share of a decreasing government budget being spent on criminal justice, prison and police in particular (Silvestri: 2011: 12) This could be argued to show that New Labour at the time were more willing to spend money on surveillance of crime and criminals but they were not always willing to pay for maintenance of prisons, supply of police officers and the infrastructure of the criminal justice system. However, there was much emphasis from the New Labour government on focussing upon the youth which, according to Coles (2012), had only been a focus for different governmental departments pre-1997.Coles (2012) states that the Blair administration was the first to have a Ministry and department (Social Exclusion Unit) specifically for young people to address the NEET problem (Alcock et al: 394) and thereby address the problem of anti-social behaviour. It was for this reason that the Connexions service was set up Furthermore, the same could be said for the Coalition’s policies regarding criminal justice. Austerity measures were talked up as being the reasons behind the cuts before the riots. However, it could be argued that some of the cuts regarding youth justice and its appendages were made too harshly. Those things that matter to individuals such as education and health are being cut back and this in turn has triggered off the mentality that was inherent in the riots. According to Will Hutton, as quoted in Ohana and Otten(2011),: We are arriving at a major turning point in our national life. It is not enough to talk about being tough on crime and the causes of crime. We need an entire root and branch reshaping of our economy and society – where both rewards and punishment are judicious proportional and deserved, and all within a revived and larger understanding of fairness†¦.We need good capitalism and the good society that accompanies it (Ohana and Otten: 2011: 245) It remains to be seen whether this present Coalition government is going to do anything about the ‘root and branch’ causes behind youth crime in general and last year’s riots in particular.The mixed messages given out by the Government seems to indicate that they will be just as tough on the causes of criminality as they will be on criminality itself. Given the track record of the previous government regarding equality of expenditure between the punishment of crime and the prevention of it, this Coalition government may have a job on their hands in balancing the two. Reference List Blair, T (1997), ‘New Labour because Britain deserves better’, The 1997 New Labour Manifesto, Available at http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml Cameron, D, (2011), ‘PM’s Speech on the fightback after the riots’, Monday 15th August 2011, Available at http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pms-speech-on-the-fightback-after-the-riots/ Coles, B (2012), ‘Young People’, IN: Alcock, P, May, M, Wright, S, (2012), ‘The Student’s Companion to Social Policy’, 4th Edition, London Hughes,(2011) Ohana, Y and Otten, H, (2012), ‘Where do you stand?: Intercultural Learning and Political Education in Contemporary Europe, Wiesbaden, Springer Fachmedien, Germany Raine, J and Keasey, P (2010), ‘Introduction: The Changing Politics of Law and Order’, IN: Doolin, K et al (ed.) (2010.), ‘Whose Criminal Justice?: State or Community?’, Waterside Press, Hook, Hampshire, England Rusbridger, A, (2011), (ed.), ‘Reading the Riots: Investigating England’s summer of disorder’, The Guardian, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2011/dec/14/reading-the-riots-investigating-england-s-summer-of-disorder-full-report Sanders, A (2011), ‘What was New Labour thinkingNew Labour’s approach to Criminal Justice’, IN: Silvestri, A (ed.), (2011), ‘Lessons for the Coalition: an end of term report on New Labour and criminal justice.’ Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, The Hadley Trust, London Soloman E, and Garside, R, (2008), ‘ Ten Years of Labour’s youth and justice reforms: an Independent audit, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, The Hadley Trust, London Available at http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus647/youthjusticeaudit.pdf

Louis MacNeice’s and Thom Gun’s poems Essay

Louis MacNeice’s and Thom Gun’s poems use the first voice to look at birth through babies’ eyes. They help us see that babies, unborn or newborn, are living but powerless beings. They can think and feel but cannot make decisions or changes in their lives. MacNeice’s piece is burdened with desperate pleas from the womb for a chance to live while Gunn’s poem takes on a lighter tone towards a newborn’s protest to leaving the comfortable and familiar womb. Written in the form of a prayer, the â€Å"Prayer Before Birth† addresses God as its audience but the poet’s intention is really to decry the horrors of abortion to the reader. The poem takes on a troubled tone of one who is facing death sentence. The effects of its tone are made stronger through the use of the first person in the impotent unborn baby to dramatize the fact that it is alive and not given a choice for its life. Each stanza repeats the fact that it has yet live. This set the reader into the speaker’s deepest burden as it reveals its concerns. The poem also uses images associated with pains and fears the speaker faces to communicate its tone of deep depression. The first stanza shows us a child’s nightmare of â€Å"bat†, â€Å"rat† and â€Å"ghoul†; followed by equipment of torture such as â€Å"walls†, â€Å"racks† and â€Å"drugs†; then criminal acts of â€Å"treason† and â€Å"murder†; men in authority as in â€Å"old men†, â€Å"bureaucrats† and â€Å"man†¦who thinks he is God† and finally the vivid description of the brutal act and the detachment of the speaker from its source of humanity. All these depressive images are interrupted only in the third stanza, with a sense of longing and in warmer tone, to experience life from childhood (being â€Å"dandle†) to death (being guided by â€Å"a white light†). It brings images of nature and life and all that we take for granted. Even the poem’s structure supports the tone. The long sentences and heavy-sounding words (â€Å"dragoon†, â€Å"dissipate† and â€Å"bloodsucking†) communicate a heavily laden heart. The poem moves slowly with increasing length at each stanza and that tells of a deepening sense of hopelessness. The sixth stanza is very short as if to communicate the end of the hope. The last stanza’s lines shorten with each subsequent plea as if to signify the shortening time  left. The poet chooses words that support the deeply burdened tone and evoke the reader’s emotional response. This is especially so when an innocent unborn has been subjected various agents of abortion in the form of creatures of the night (â€Å"bat†, â€Å"rat† and â€Å"ghoul†), equipment of torture (â€Å"walls†, â€Å"racks† and â€Å"blood-baths†), criminal acts (â€Å"treasons† and â€Å"murder†) and unloving human (â€Å"lovers†, â€Å"beggars† and â€Å"bureaucrats†). They communicate uncaring, cold and relentless in achieving their ends without regard to the subject. Many rarely used heavy-sounding and multi-syllabus words add to the ominous mood as they â€Å"dragoon†, â€Å"dissipate† and â€Å"engendered† the speaker. And then the word â€Å"thistledown† also helps add the finality of the act as we picture the foetus as unattached weed just go directionless and lifeless (â€Å"hither and thither†) to be [spilled] like water into the drain. The use of the word â€Å"me† gives a picture of helplessness to be subjected to other people’s direction (â€Å"think me†, â€Å"beyond me†, â€Å"live me†, â€Å"curse me†, â€Å"lecture me† and â€Å"hector me†). The sum effect of the dramatic play of words is designed to create the dark, troubled mood of one facing death sentence and to draw a response from the reader. On the other hand, Gunn also uses the first voice but he gives the protesting baby a less intense tone. His intention is to explain the baby’s first cry and he thinks that it is from its reluctance to leave an environment of security and warmth for a strange and cold world. The poem carries an angry tone of complains (â€Å"Things were different inside†)and warm tone of memories (â€Å"The perfect comfort of her inside†). Like the previous poem, the effect of its tone is made stronger through the use of the first person who shares its experience first hand. Yet unlike the first poem, the tone it carries is not as overwhelming as to evoke a respond from the reader for it hints that it is only temporal (â€Å"I may forget†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Gunn’s poem also uses images but those of contrasting scenes to communicate its objection to the changes. One can hear the warm and longing tone as the baby thinks of the snug and secure â€Å"jolly and padded† and â€Å"[the] perfect comfort of her inside†. Otherwise, the poem moves in exasperation as it compares the â€Å"warm and wet and black† womb with a â€Å"rain of blood† and the discomfort of the â€Å"lighted† outside world, the exposed and spacious â€Å"rustling bed† and the changes that comes when â€Å"all time roars†. Like MacNeice’s poem, it also communicates a helpless baby in the midst of the situation it cannot change as it lies â€Å"raging, small, and red†. And it may continue to rage till it forgets for it has no choice to the matter of whether it wants to be born. Gunn’s poem is designed to support the tone of protest through its fast-paced, easy-to-read rhythm and rhyme and its short and even sentences. These, as compared with â€Å"Prayer before birth†, give the effect of a less forceful albeit angry tone. Its pace slow down a little in the last two stanzas (with longer vowels — â€Å"sleep†, â€Å"soon†, â€Å"womb† and â€Å"room†) as the child gets tired and slips into dreams of the familiar surrounding again. The poem keeps the lighter tone and moves with ease through informal and conversational language. Many of the words chosen in this poem refers to tangible objects as in â€Å"womb†, â€Å"bed† and â€Å"room†. The tone is also supported by choosing single-syllabi action words like â€Å"fall†, â€Å"ride†, â€Å"tuck† and â€Å"lie†. All those action words imply how quickly everything happens between birth and the baby’s sleep. Many words also indicate the drastic differences the baby has to endure at birth e.g. from â€Å"private† to a shared environment; from the â€Å"warm and wet and black† womb to a â€Å"lighted† room; and from â€Å"padded and jolly† to â€Å"rustling†. All these imply changes the baby needs to adjust to. But they are all temporal shock and the protest will not last even though the newborn may fight it†¦ â€Å"But I won’t forget that I regret†. And eve ntually, all that is left of the memory of the womb may exist only in the baby’s dream. Both poems revolve around the subject birth and give thought to life. The main difference is that MacNeice’s poem is meant to evoke a response or perhaps provoke the reader to action while Gunn’s poem only wants to share a response of a baby at birth.