Reflection to the Book Inside Rikers free essay sample

I could not help but notice a disturbing image of the book cover; it was an image of an inmate locked up in his cell; he had one hand holding the bar, while having the other hand out of the cell, with a cigarette in his hand. Then I read the Publisher Weekly’s description of the book in the cover page, which read, â€Å"a penetrating exploration of inmates’ lives in New York’s ‘vast penal colony’†¦ unusually stirring. Based on this image and Publisher Weekly’s description, I thought this book was going to talk about inmates’ involvement in criminal activities inside Rikers Island, i. e. fights between the prison gangs. Nevertheless, once I started reading, I came to realize my presumption was totally wrong. Prior to reading this book, I have been thinking that all criminals are just like any other â€Å"normal† persons in this world: they are smart people capable of making rational choices, and they, like â€Å"normal† people, have an equal opportunity to succeed, but they ended up being incarcerated because they made a â€Å"rational choice† to engage in criminal activities. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflection to the Book Inside Rikers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nevertheless, this book clearly and evidently proved to me how naive I had been. I did not take into account the factors, such as poor and devastated social environments in which criminals were born and raised, that leaves someone no other choice but to resort to criminal activities. Another thing I learned from this book is the importance of rehabilitation. In this reaction paper, I will discuss each of my reactions in depth. Family and Opportunity This book actually changed my perception about inmates and crimes. I came to realize how social factors (such as being raised under incapable and irresponsible guardians or having lack of opportunity) play a big factor when it comes to crime. Rico’s life, which left me heartbroken, clearly illustrated that to me. I thought it was devastating how he became alcoholic at the age of two due to his mother’s habit of mixing liquor in his baby bottles, supposedly to make him sleep or stop crying. He also started smoking weed by age eight, and his father did not stop him. As a matter of fact, his father’s idea of quality time with his son was â€Å"getting high on the weekends†. Moreover, his mother fled the country when he was thirteen. How can anyone be expected to live a successful, law-abiding life under these circumstances? (Wynn, pg. 15) As I was reading, I thought myself: if anyone, including myself, were raised in the environment in which Rico was raised, then no one probably would live a law-abiding life. Likewise, it left Rico no other choice but to enter the life of the criminals. I believe I had been really naive to think that people like Rico chose to get involved in the criminal industry simply because they were lazy or did not seek legitimate opportunity like every one else did Angel, like Rico, turned to criminal activities because of social factors. He simply lacked the opportunity to live a decent life. There was one thing he said that really moved my heart. He said he hated the fact that he was poor no matter how hard he worked; he could not even buy things that he wanted on TV, when others can buy it without any hesitation. As strain theorists would say, this frustration probably turned him to a conman (Wynn, pg. 8). If criminals like Rico and Angel had parents who sincerely took care of them, or who could actually provide the basic necessities for them, would they have ended up in Rikers Island? Probably not. Thus, I really felt bad for them and the circumstances under which they had to live. The importance of Rehabilitation To be honest, I did not believe in rehabilitation prior to reading this book. Instead, I was a big fan of crime control model; I believed that mass incarceration is the best form of punishment and deterrence. However, as L. Richards said, I came to realize that â€Å"one act of kindness will do more toward reforming a criminal than a thousand acts of cruelty and than all the punishment that you can inflict†. I believe rehabilitation programs such as Fresh Start are really great way to provide inmates with a true â€Å"fresh start†. For many inmates, it sparks a desire within them that led to a succession of accomplishments and I believe Carlos and Lenny are living proof that people can change and that good rehabilitation programs work (Wynn, pg. 150) For Carlos, he not only mastered word processing but also learned Quark, which was sophisticated publishing software. His newly acquired skills led him to create massive database for the newsletter company and designed an award-winning website. He also trained other Fresh Start graduates to resolve their issues. Thus, it is evident that the rehabilitation program turned him from a drug dealer to a decent web-designer (Wynn, pg. 151). Likewise, Lenny received a job in a telemarketing company, which not only gave him the sense of accomplishment, but also made him realize that he can earn money by engaging in legal activities. I also liked how he became an inspiring figure to other inmates enrolled in the Fresh Start program, by telling them about how he has overcome his hardships after he was released from Rikers Island. Thus, these living proofs made me realize how important rehabilitation is. We, as a society, are busy blaming criminals for the crimes they commit, but we do not spend much time trying to help them live a straight, legitimate life (Wynn, pg. 156). Nevertheless, there was one rehabilitation programs that I really oppose: it’s the Key Extended Entry Program (KEEP), which allows addicts to receive methadone throughout their period of incarceration, which averages forty-five days but an be up to a year or even eighteen months. As mentioned in Anthony’s article â€Å"Rikers Highland,† some inmates leave jails with a worse drug habit than they came in with (Wynn, pg. 174). Conclusion Overall, this book changed my perception of inmates and the rehabilitation program. The inmate’s lives (especially the life of Rico) not only saddened me, it also made me feel that, based on their environment in which they were raised, they had no other choice but to become criminals, as if it were their destiny. I just hope more and more inmates take advantage of the rehabilitation program like â€Å"Fresh Start† to live a legitimate life after release.

GPS - The Future of Agricultur essays

GPS - The Future of Agricultur essays Its cold, its late, youre driving home from the public speaking contest when suddenly, BAM, you hit a patch of ice and your car slides out of control. Across the road, through the ditch, into the left over stubble of a corn field, finally stopping at an old tree. Then it happens. You hear the voice... Your name are you all right? You pause and wonder... Where is the voice coming from? Your name, this is Angie with On-Star. Our system indicates that your airbag have been deployed. Are you in need of assistance? You try to answer, but no words will come out. your name, this is Angie with On-Star. We have identified the position of your vehicle, and since you are unable to respond at this time, we have contacted the local police department and help is on the way. Now I bet you are wondering what any of this has to do with agriculture. Well sit back, relax, and let me tell you a story of how the same technology used by On-Star has changed the face of farming. In the 1980s, everyone wanted to talk about sustainable agriculture. In the 1990s, it was precision agriculture (Thompson). Now, GPS and remote sensing have moved precision agriculture to the forefront. To many people, the Global Positioning System, or GPS, was once thought to be a mega system used by the government and military and not something that the average Joe would ever see up close. Well, things have changed! Many people today are familiar with GPS systems, such as On Star, that they can install in their vehicles or GPS programs available for your cell phone and your Palm Pilot as well. Yet, the average citizen may not think of GPS as something that has helped the agricultural industry. Even those that are familiar with the name, GPS, probably can not tell you what it really is or how it functions, so heres the quick introduction course. According to renowned physicist Edward Taylor...

WORLDVIEWS Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WORLDVIEWS - Coursework Example A co-worker or a neighbor who follows the Islamic way of life should be understood in terms of what he/she stands for, and also be ready to embrace the differences between him/her and the other party. Presenting the Christian gospel to an Islamic person would be faced by religious differences. Islamic and Christian beliefs are significantly different. Countering one’s Islamic beliefs must be accompanied by outstanding evidence of the arguments being made. On the same note, faith in involved in the process. Faith and religious superiority would pose substantial barriers to presenting gospel to an Islamic person (Quá ¹ ­b & Rami, 2006). Personally, I uphold respect for other religions and the different forms of worldviews. In this respect, presenting the gospel must account for Islamic views and the Muslim beliefs. The idea is to present the gospel without tarnishing one religion over the other. Personally, balancing these two aspects poses substantial challenges to presenting the gospel to a person from Islamic worldview. The parties involved would have to be considered, and the efforts in presenting the gospel would not have to present Muslim religion or Islamic practices as inferior to

Smoking and Its Affects on Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Smoking and Its Affects on Americans - Essay Example This report approves that reasonable persons who happen to smoke, an overwhelming majority, acknowledge that actions such as smoking in a car with the windows rolled up while the kids are in the car is at least a mild form of child neglect. It is unreasonable for citizens not allowed the civil liberty to engage in any activity that does not harm other persons or their property. Smokers have actually become an oppressed minority in the U.S. As an example, smokers are commonly the victims of workplace discrimination due to their unfortunate cigarette addiction. Personal freedoms are an American birthright that is slowly but surely eroding over time. This essay makes a conclusion that smoking is now widely regarded as an activity that can be associated with numerous health risks, not only for the individual engaging in the activity, but also for those who are in the immediate vicinity and thus must partake of what has been termed ‘second-hand smoke’. For these reasons, it has been determined in a variety of different venues and states, that smoking in public and public-use places, such as libraries and government offices, restaurants and shopping malls, should be banned. While restrictions in closed-area spaces may be reasonable and justified, smokers argue that unreasonable restrictions on their freedoms such as enjoying a nice smoke after dinner in the designated smoking section or while outdoors crosses the line of reason and damages the concepts of liberty and personal freedom as defined by the nation’s founding documents.

The Internet and the Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Internet and the Law - Essay Example If we look at the traditional model, those are more focused on the producer and distributor of the content. However, in the regulation the law has been amended in such a way that it holds the end user also accountable for any illegal content. The main aim of this article is to bring out the clear picture and the reason for which the regulation of the pornography has been made. This article is written in order to analyze the basis of the regulation of pornography. Though with the regulation the end users are also liable to possess illegal content or pornography, the legal regulation of the extreme pornography still lies with the producer and distributor of the content. In today's world of information technology and internet pornography has reached every nook and corner of the world. Every person is in the easy access of the pornography - whether it is online or offline. If we look at pornography from a different perspective, one question that comes to our mind is if it harmful or not. In some countries pornography is illegal. However, in some countries, possession of the same is not illegal but the distribution or publication is.2 In some countries possession is also illegal for certain types of pornography - like child pornography. In today's world there are various channels through which the pornographic contents are being circulated. The traditional delivery channels are print materials, DVDs, videos, CDs, TV. In the modern times internet, mobile phones, PDAs are also being included as the channel for the transmission. Censorship in the United Kingdom If we look at the censorship in the United Kingdom, there are many stringent laws that are applicable to varied arena. Since our core topic is related to the laws and regulations in the cyber or internet laws, let us straight away head towards the topic. The cyber law in the United Kingdom is very stringent. In the United Kingdom, the internet traffic is being passed through a service called Cleanfeed. The sole purpose of this procedure is to filter out the content that contains the indecent photographs of children of varied ages.3 Since there is a filter or check point being introduced, if there are any such pages that come up in the internet, the page is not delivered to the end user. Instead of that it shows an error stating "URL not found". There are many internet service providers who use WebMinder as well.4 There are few questions that we need to have clarify. Under the English Law, what is called as obscenity? This one question is very important to know. Along with that, to what extent can the obscene be distinguished from the pornographic? Look at the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s62. How does this UK statutory provision compare with the relevant provision elsewhere internationally? Does extreme pornography regulation merit a different treatment in comparison to child pornography? What alternatives might there be for the regulation of undesirable online content? Could such altern atives provide a better solution to legal intervention? A Multi-Layered Approach Before we talk about the multi-layer approach of governance of pornography and child pornography, we need to know the processes by which pornography and child pornography can be regulated. The regulation of pornography is a controversial topic and the same is arisen in the recent years in relation with the Internet. In the recent days, the

Types of tourism

Types of tourism P1–Describe the travel and tourism component industries and provide examples of domestic, inbound and outbound organisations within them. Inbound Tourism: Tourists (non-residents) coming into a country e.g. The French coming into the UK. Outbound Tourism: People leaving their country for another country e.g. Russians going over to China. Domestic Tourism: Residents of one country travelling within it e.g. New Yorker travels to Los Angeles. Accommodation: Its the place you stay at for your holiday or tour; accommodations can be both serviced and non-serviced, serviced is when the room or place youre going to stay at is fully furnished and provided with cooking facilities, fresh meals, modern technology such as a flat screen TV and internet (Wi-Fi). For instance the Hilton hotels has its network in 78 countries across 6 continents[1]. The Hilton hotels are highly branded, stylish with excellent services, having over 92 years of experience proving their professionalism. Even the guest room itself has an original design which is well organised and undoubtedly accommodating. Thus inbound and outbound tourism would use serviced accommodation. On the other hand, non-serviced means only the accommodation itself is provided; the Sykes cottages organisation has over 5,000 cottages across the UK and Ireland. Nearly three decades of experience[2] indicates the companys efficiency and credibility. Therefore non-serviced accommodation would be use d for domestic tourism. Transport Provision: Irrespective of your destination, transport will be essential to get there; regardless of its form whether its by air, rail, road or sea. To get to and from your destination and around to explore the area coach or car travel is recommended. Coach travel are offering low cost prices if the tickets are booked in advance. Megabus offers prices as low as  £1. National Express is one of the largest coach companies that travel to more than 900 destinations across the UK[3]. Over the last 50 years, car travel has grown rapidly and it is by far the most popular type of transport used by the tourists in Britain. There are a variety of different worldwide companies, such as Avis that specialise in private car hire. Therefore both coach and car travel is suitable for domestic tourism. Rail travel is a more environmentally friendly mode of travelling. Virgin trains is a very popular train company that is popular with the tourists. Virgin trains have been around for over 15 years[4] therefore t hey are one of the most experienced train companies around Britain. Virgin trains travel all over the country. Thus rail travel being used for domestic tourism too. When travelling by sea, its usually by ferries or cruising. Ferry companies operate services between the UK and Ireland, France, Belgium and a few other destinations. For example PO Ferries, Irish Ferries and Stenaline. Since the Channel Tunnel was opened in 1994, ferry services have fallen dramatically[5]. However, cruising is also a type of travel using the sea and it is growing steadily and it is attracting lots off different types of tourists. In the past, cruising was seen more for the rich, famous and the elderly but cruising today, it is attracting families, young people and groups of people. Royal Caribbean Cruises is an example of a cruise service. This company holds the largest cruise ship ever built[6]. Sea travel would be used for all three types of tourism; inbound, outbound and domestic. Air travel is the most popular type of travel used all over the world. This includes; scheduled–planes that operate to a published timetable. These planes have to follow routes and they are under government licence e.g. British Airways or the low-costs such as Ryanair. Tickets purchased from the companys website, operating year round[7]. Charter–an airline ticket for a charter flight will be purchased from a tour operator. In this way, charter flights differ from scheduled flights, generally operate only during the summer months (May to October) or November to April for ski flights. Tour operators who put holiday packages together will charter or lease an aircraft from an airline such as Monarch or Thompson. Air travel is to be considered mostly for inbound and outbound tourism. Ancillary Services: Ancillary services are all the extras that come along side a holiday that tourists may need. These are things such as; travel insurance, foreign exchange, airport parking, car hire, luggage check-in, tour guiding, equipment hire, passport and visa services. Without Ancillary Services the holiday wouldnt be complete. Many Travel Agents offer ancillaries to their clients and they make good commission on these products and services. Eurochange is the foreign exchange expert within the UK, which will allow tourists to exchange their currency with outstanding rates, one of the best foreign exchange companies in the UK such as The Money Shop. Therefore making their holiday alot cheaper; suits the inbound and outbound tourism. Tour Operators: A Mass Market tour operator are companies such as Thomas Cook and Thomson who deal with any type of holiday and they are able to arrange packages that suit the customers. A mass market tour operator also supplies their customers with accommodation, transfers, transport and extra services. Specialist operators are businesses such as Cox and Kings. These type of tour operators are a lot more personal to the customer. This is because these tour operators are able to cater and specialise to what the tourists interest are for example, someone wants to go on a cycling holiday, they can tell the operator what they want in their holiday and the operators can do their best to satisfy the customers needs. Attractions: The tourist boards have estimated that there are around 6,400 tourist attractions in the UK. In the travel and tourism sector, attractions are vital as they are what attracts all the tourists from around the world. The Lake District is one of the popular natural attractions in the UK[8], a natural attraction is an attraction that has been created by nature. Many of these areas have been given a status to protect their environment and provide facilities so that the public can enjoy the sights. There are attractions such as caves, waterfalls, seashores and any other scenic view interest that havent been created by mankind. Attractions that are old and have been in place for many years and are now historical–heritage attractions. These are attractions such as canals, railways, battlefields. These attractions are in place so that people can gain an appreciation of the past. The Stone Henge is a popular hertiage attraction owned by English Heritage and is Located in Wiltshire. Purpose-built attractions–attractions that have been built purposely to attract tourist into that area. When people hear the term tourist attraction it makes people think automatically about the purpose-built attractions that are fun and enjoyable and designed for many different reasons. In the UK there are many purpose-built tourist attractions like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Buckingham Palace and Alton Towers. Events–attractions that attracts tourists to the area. These are small events like the Blackpool Illuminations or huge events like the Olympics and the Paralympics. Events play a significant part in the tourist attractions because in different parts of the country, some places cant offer a large amount of natural or purpose-built attractions therefore the events may be the only reason people visit that certain area. Also Events bring in a lot of income which creates jobs and wealth in the area. Tourism development and Promotion: Tourist boards play an important role by helping destinations and co-ordinating the work of tourism businesses. Tourist boards get their money from the government (National and Local) and it is said to operate in the public sector. Public sector bodies play an important role in Travel and Tourism the UK, because they promote tourism and attract domestic and inbound tourists to the UK this in return will create income and jobs for local business and have a positive effect on the GDP. Tourist boards are websites such as Visit Bolton, Visit England etc. These websites show people who are visiting that area what is happening during the period of time they are there and when and where the events and occasions are taking place. These websites give you information locally, nationally and regionally. National–either a day trip of for a short break away. For example, the Visit Scotland website has information about the events that are taking place in Scotland and it also has their time and place that it is taking place. The national websites are usually available in a variety of different languages which means they are accessible for visitors from overseas who want to find out information about the UK. Local–local destinations such as the Visit Bolton website. This website provides information such as train and bus times, events, accommodation around Bolton and also in Bolton there would be a Tourist Information Centre that would help out the tourists. Finally, Regional–websites such as Visit Englands North West. This would be helpful for people who are overseas and they want to come and visit an area like the North West of England, it would give them information about what happens around this area and what type of activities and events are held in the Lake District. Trade associations and Regulatory bodies: A trade association is an organisation which works in the shared interests for either a particular industry or the customers in general; the difference between ATOL and ABTA is that they both exist for different kinds of operators. ATOL stands for Air Tour Operators Licence. ATOL is managed by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and it is for the tour operators selling flights. ABTA stands for Association of British Travel Agents. ABTA is for the tour operators who aren’t involved with selling flights[9]. AITO is another association. This stands for Association of Independent Tour Operators. AITO was set up for the smaller travel companies[10]. These companies are in place just in case anything goes wrong whilst you are on holiday, all your money is protected. Also if any of the companies go bust whilst you are away, you will be refunded and brought home by the relevant organisation. If a tourist books a holiday through a company which is a member of AITO or bonded by ABTA they can be sure that the company is reliable and if the company should suffer from financial problems they will be protected. The traveller would be brought home from their holiday if the company failed whilst they were away. Travel Agents: Retail travel agent–advise people when they are travelling, about different hotels around the area they are travelling to and about the weather conditions and the different currency exchange. Business travel agent–travel services for companies, they focus mostly on short notice trips where the timing of the flight is alot more important than the price of the flight for the tourist. Call Centre travel agent–sells products over the phone and every day they have to reach a certain number of sales they make per day. Web Based travel agent–sells holidays over the internet. An example of these websites would be Expedia. This website allows you to create your own holiday trip and also looks at hotels and other extras that you might want with your holiday. [1] Hilton Hotels | http://www3.hilton.com/en/about/locations/index.html [2] Sykes Cottages | http://www.sykescottages.co.uk/history-of-sykes-cottages.html [3] National Express | http://www.nationalexpress.com/wherewego/index.aspx [4] Virgin trains | http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/ [5] Opening of Channel Tunnel causes ferry services to drop | http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21602261-why-sea-passenger-market-may-finally-collapse-set-adrift [6] Allure of the Seas largest cruise ship | http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=530 [7] Ryanair operating year round | http://corporate.ryanair.com/ [8] Natural Attractions | http://www.you2uk.com/natural-attractions.html | [9] ABTA | http://www.abta.com/ [10] AITO | http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=27

My Philosophy :: Education Teaching Essays

My Philosophy Education is important because it serves as a foundation for your quality of life. The over all purpose of any education is to teach children the world. It gives you a structure that is always changing as you learn more and more everyday. I want to become a physical education and health teacher because I feel that the education of a healthy lifestyle and active play need to be incorporated into everyone’s lives. I hope to provide students with the knowledge they need to stay healthy and to desire to be that way. What is my philosophy in teaching? Well, I am eclectic and have a few that I fit into. I find mainly that I am a progressivist. I also agree with certain aspects from the philosophical stances idealism, realism, and existentialism. Being a physical education major, I really do not see how I could become a traditional teacher. I do not picture myself taking on much of a democratic role, especially in the gym setting that I would primarily be in. I assume that I will tak e up the role of a facilitating teacher and have student centered activities where we will learn new things together. I plan to give my students the freedom to make their own decisions for the most part, because no one is going to have fun and want to participate much at all if they are not in an enjoyable setting. There will be rules that my students and I will determine together, and these are what will remain for the entire duration of the class as long as they do not take advantage of the rules or myself. In a way, I will give my students the opportunity to lead their class, as long as they do it responsibly and do not get out of hand. I think that my curricular area is important because of the rise of childhood obesity in the United States today. I hope to contribute, in a way, to the decline of obesity in the future. As a teacher I hope to accomplish the impossible, as I am sure that everyone sets out to do in any field. I want students to leave my class feeling like I care about them and that they belong in my class as well. I want to be one of the teachers that the students look up to and feel comfortable and at ease around. My Philosophy :: Education Teaching Essays My Philosophy Education is important because it serves as a foundation for your quality of life. The over all purpose of any education is to teach children the world. It gives you a structure that is always changing as you learn more and more everyday. I want to become a physical education and health teacher because I feel that the education of a healthy lifestyle and active play need to be incorporated into everyone’s lives. I hope to provide students with the knowledge they need to stay healthy and to desire to be that way. What is my philosophy in teaching? Well, I am eclectic and have a few that I fit into. I find mainly that I am a progressivist. I also agree with certain aspects from the philosophical stances idealism, realism, and existentialism. Being a physical education major, I really do not see how I could become a traditional teacher. I do not picture myself taking on much of a democratic role, especially in the gym setting that I would primarily be in. I assume that I will tak e up the role of a facilitating teacher and have student centered activities where we will learn new things together. I plan to give my students the freedom to make their own decisions for the most part, because no one is going to have fun and want to participate much at all if they are not in an enjoyable setting. There will be rules that my students and I will determine together, and these are what will remain for the entire duration of the class as long as they do not take advantage of the rules or myself. In a way, I will give my students the opportunity to lead their class, as long as they do it responsibly and do not get out of hand. I think that my curricular area is important because of the rise of childhood obesity in the United States today. I hope to contribute, in a way, to the decline of obesity in the future. As a teacher I hope to accomplish the impossible, as I am sure that everyone sets out to do in any field. I want students to leave my class feeling like I care about them and that they belong in my class as well. I want to be one of the teachers that the students look up to and feel comfortable and at ease around.