The Concept Of Property In The Philosophy Of The Enlightenment Essay

The Concept Of Property In The Philosophy Of The Enlightenment - Essay Example John Locke is considered one of the precursors of American democracy, and his political concept is based predominantly upon social contract theory and natural rights of human beings. He believed that the state should have legislative and executive power, as well as the right to decide whether to start military actions or not (the right for war and peace). However, it is very important that he refused to grant the state with the right to handle people’s lives and property: according to J. Locke, these two were the natural rights of people, and they could only be restricted if the security of other citizens was endangered. In Locke’s ideal state, therefore, the government could not take property from people, nor could it even collect different kinds of payments without previous agreement of the majority of people (or their representatives) to pay this money. Talking of freedom as the natural condition for all the citizens of his ideal state, John Locke stated that the main natural right of people (the right of property) should necessarily be secured using legal regulations, so that no conflicts arise. Locke believed that the political society is formed by means of concluding a "social contract", and as a result the government is formed which has to be responsible to people: "The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule. The liberty of man, in society, is to be under no other legislative power, but that established, by consent, in the commonwealth; nor under the dominion of any will, or restraint of any law, but what that legislative shall enact, according to the trust put in it." (Chapter IV (Of Liberty), Section 22) All in all, John Locke's idea of state was concluding this social contract that would restrict the freedom of people to a certain extent, but the right of property was viewed by him as the right that can by no means be violated. J. Locke believed that the reason why some people have more property than others is because though all children are born equal, in the process of development some of them get more knowledge and prove to have better abilities, and therefore the result of this labour (property) should not be alienated from its owner. it is very easy to conceive, without any difficulty, how labour could at first begin a title of property in the common things of nature, and how the spending it upon our uses bounded it. So that there could then be no reason of quarrelling about title, nor any doubt about the largeness of possession it gave. Right and conveniency

How to Write a Paragraph Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Paragraph Essay Writing a paragraph does not simply involve throwing words into the pool, hoping that it would create something meaningful. One must first create an outline in order to organize the scattered ideas before dedicating words into the paragraph. When writing a paragraph, one must start off with a â€Å"hook† sentence which can attract readers and encourage them to read more. That would be applicable to the introductory paragraph only. The succeeding paragraphs should contain a topic sentence rather than the â€Å"hook† sentence. After every topic sentence, the writer should support it with ideas that are related to the topic sentence’s idea. This actually composes the body of the paragraph. This part of the paragraph should be clear and concise. The writer must not use wordy sentences since it takes up a lot of space. Finally, one must conclude each paragraph by summarizing the ideas into one sentence and creating a transitional sentence which can relate the paragraph to the next. For introductory paragraphs, the last sentence should be the thesis statement of the whole paper. So when writing a paragraph, the writer should always start with an outline to organize his or her scattered ideas. This is where every paragraph should begin.

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay Example for Free

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay The Discovery of The Rosetta Stone One of the most important by-products of the French invasion of Egypt was the knowledge gathered by the scientists and historians who journeyed along with the army. But, of all the discoveries made, the most important was the Rosetta Stone, the key that unlocked the ancient marvels of Egypt. Do any of you know what the Rosetta Stone is? The Rosetta stone is a very important artifact that was discovered during the French invasion of Egypt in the year 1799. You may ask why this is important. Well because of the Rosetta Stone, the historians and scientists now understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Previous to the discovery, Egyptian writing had been indecipherable. It was August 20th 1799 when the slab of dark stone was uncovered where the soldiers had knocked down a wall of Fort St. Julien. They sent it back to France to be studied. When the French surrendered Egypt to Britain in 1801, the conquerors also decided that the stone be surrendered, also. It was taken the British Museum. It wasn’t until more than 20 years later did someone start to decipher the writing. A British Scientist, Thomas Young and a French scholar Jean Champollion both contributed to the translation we have today. Then, it took another 20 years to interpret the whole slab. The text on the stone is a decree from Ptolemy V, describing the repeal of various taxes and instructions to raise the statues in temples. The Rosetta Stone is 45 inches high at its highest point, 28. inches wide and 11 inches thick. It weighs nearly 2,000 pounds and is currently described as a ganodiorite of a dark grey-pinkish color. Despite vigorous campaigns to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, it remains in the British Museum, as it has almost continuously since 1802. So thanks to Napoleon, and the scientists and historians that traveled with him to war, along with the translators of the stone, we now know much more about the ancient Egyptians, and their peculiar style of writ ing.

Invisible Contract

Invisible Contract The concept of the invisible contract can also be expressed as psychological contract which entails the unwritten employment relationship between the employer and the employee. It is an unspoken set of beliefs usually hidden or remains invisible, held by both parties which co-exist with the written contract of employment. The psychological contract is used to refer to the perceptions of what both employers and employees have regarding their business relationship based on what they are to give and receive from each other respectively. This concept can be traced back to Ancient Greek Philosophers as well as social contract theorists like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Kotter (1973) describes the psychological contract as an implicit contract with specifications of how both the individual and organisation are meant to behave in their employment relationship. The psychological contract is an abstract relationship between employers and employees driven by their perceptions of values. According to Cluterbuck (2005) value has three core meanings and they are value as respect, value as worth and value as beliefs. Value as respect refers to the perceptions of the employees towards the organisation with regards to how the employee feels about working with that particular organisation. If the employees feel that they are contributing positively to the organisation and if these efforts are being recognised by the organisation, the hidden orientation becomes successful. Value as worth on the other hand refers to how the employers and employees create added value for each other through reciprocal rewards. For example, the organisation providing Good pay and providing training and development opportunities for the employees while the employees in turn add value to share holders in order to raise capital. In this proposal various psychological aspects will be described in the context of organization and also its employees and also the appropriate methodology for this research will be discussed for the further completion of the investigation. 1.1 Research Question What is the role of the invisible contact or psychological contract between employers and employees in Starbucks coffee in City East District? 1.2 Key Aims This research seeks: To compare the Old and New Types of the Psychological contract To explore the opinions of a selection of Starbucks Coffees employees and their managers about their side of the psychological contract. To evaluate the assumptions both employers and employees have towards the concept of the psychological contract. To explore how psychological contracts can be enhanced to increase competitive advantage in supermarkets. To examine the changes in the psychological contract over the years, the reasons for the changes and the influence the new contract is having over both employees and the organisation. 1.3 Background of the Company: Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 16,120 stores in 49 countries, including around 11,000 in the United States, followed by nearly 1,000 in Canada and more than 800 in Japan. Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as mugs and coffee beans. Through the Starbucks Entertainment division and Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music, and film. Many of the companys products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks-brand ice cream and coffee are also offered at grocery stores. In May 1998, Starbucks successfully entered the European market through its acquisition of 65 Seattle Coffee Company stores in the UK.   The two companies shared a common culture, focussing on a great commitment to customised coffee, similar company values and a mutual respect for people and the environment. CHAPTER 2 2.0 Literature Review This chapter highlights the major arguments surrounding the concept of the psychological contract. The psychological contract is unwritten and therefore it is merely implied but could be explicit to some extent but not necessarily allow for agreement to the parties involvement. It can differ from individual to individual as well as from various organisations because individuals have various perceptions even with the same terms and conditions it still varies amongst individuals. The concept of the psychological contract can be traced back to Ancient Greek Philosophers and social contract theorists like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. William Morris described Love of work as a Man at work creating something which he feels will exist because he is working at it and wills it and is therefore exercising the energies of his mind, soul and body (Morris 1870). 2.1 Definitions of the Psychological contract Agyris (1960) has been given credit for bringing to limelight the concept of psychological contract. He describes the psychological contract as a set of practical and emotional expectations of benefits that both employers and employees have of each other. Kotters (1973) defines the psychological contract as an implicit contract between an individual and his organisation which specifies what each is expected to give and receive from each other in the relationship. Morrison and Robinson (1997) on the other hand describe the psychological contract as an employment belief about the reciprocal obligations between that employee and his or her organisations where these obligations are based on perceived promises and are not necessarily recognised by agents of the organisation. According to Schein (1978) the psychological contract was described as a set of unwritten reciprocal expectations between the individual employee and the organisation. According to Goddard (1988), the way psychological contract is managed will determine how successful an organisation will become. The psychological contract entails what both parties to the contract (i.e. the employer and employee) expect from each other based on their employment beliefs and values. 2.2 Types of Psychological Contract Rousseau (1995) describes four types of psychological contract. The first type is the transactional which is short term and there is very little involvement of the parties, employees are more concerned with compensation and personal benefits rather than being good organisational citizens (Robinson et al 1994). The second type of psychological contract is the relational, which is a long term type focuses on more emotional factors like support and loyalty rather than on monetary issues like pay and compensation. The third type is the hybrid or balanced which aims at long term relationships between employers and employees as well as specifying performance requirements. The fourth type is the transitional contract which according to (Rousseau, 1995) does not offer any form of guarantee because of the ever changing nature of the organisations environment.    Short Term  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Long term Transactional (ex. retail clerks hired during Christmas shopping season) * Low ambiguity * Easy exit/high turnover * Low member commitment * Freedom to enter new contracts * Little learning * Weak integration/identification Balanced (ex. high involvement team) * High member commitment * High integration/identification * Ongoing development * Mutual support * Dynamic Transitional ex. employee experiences following merger or acquisitions) * Ambiguity/uncertainty * High turnover/Termination * Instability Relational (ex. family business members) * High member Commitment * High affective commitment * High integration/identification * Stability Table 1: Types of Psychological contract (Rousseau 1995 Pg 17) The psychological contract is an abstract relationship between employers and employees driven by their perceptions of values. According to Cluterbuck (2005) value has three core meanings and they are value as respect, value as worth and value as beliefs. Value as respect refers to the perceptions of the employees towards the organisation with regards to how the employee feels about working with that particular organisation. If the employees feel that they are contributing positively to the organisation and if these efforts are being recognised by the organisation, the hidden orientation becomes successful. Value as worth on the other hand refers to how the employers and employees create added value for each other through reciprocal rewards. For example, the organisation providing Good pay and providing training and development opportunities for the employees while the employees in turn add value to share holders in order to raise capital. There must also be a sense of equilibrium her e so the parties involved feel a sense of fairness. There are two main types of psychological contract and they are the Transactional and Relational Psychological contracts. The transactional focuses on short term and specific monitory agreements with little involvement of the parties where employees are more interested in good benefits and compensations. The relational psychological contract on the other hand is a long-term contract that focuses on support and loyalty rather than on monitory issues, it is a more emotional contract. Rousseau (1990) categorisation of obligations as relational or transactional is shown below (Table 2) Employer  Ã‚   Obligations: Transactional Employer Obligations: Relational Employee Obligations: Transactional Employee   Obligations: Relational Advancement Training Notice Overtime High Pay Job security Transfers Loyalty Merit Pay Development No competitor support Extra role behaviour Support Minimum Stay Source:   Rousseau (1990) Table 2: Categorisation of employer and employee obligations as Transactional or Relational 2.3 Changes to the Psychological contract The concept of the psychological contract has led Academics to carry out a vast and in-depth research on the subject matter. The concept of the psychological contract has changed over the years and this chapter will describe its changes. Holbeche (1998) noted that the old psychological contract existed before the 1980s where employment was guaranteed as long as employees continued to perform their best at work. The change occurred from the 1980s to the present as a result of emergent challenges to corporate strategies which were being influenced by economic turbulence. There was an urgent need by organisations to adopt change to deal with economic downturns and as a result of this most organisations began the process of downsizing and began to focus more on their core business and outsource other peripheral activities. These business strategies were required for organisational development and they challenged the old psychological contract that was based on Job security and moved focu s to a new contract that is based on employability. According to Hiltrop (1995), the psychological contract that gave job security and job stability to the relationship of both employees and employers has dramatically altered in the past two decades. He further stresses the change in nature of loyalty and commitment with the emphasis changing from long term careers to current performance. Rousseau (1995) acknowledges these changes by stating that contracts were previously transactional in nature but with the emergence of the bureaucratic era they developed to become relational. The old psychological contract was based on a reciprocal obligation of both employer and employee where employees provided loyalty to employers and employers gave Job security. Various factors led to the change in the psychological contract and they include amongst others the recession in the early 1990s as well as the effects of globalisation. This resulted in a change from the old psychological contract to a new contract. Individual offered: Organisation expected: Loyalty Loyalty In-depth knowledge of organisation Staff with a deep understanding of how the business functioned Acceptance of bureaucratic systems that defined the individuals rate of progress Willingness to build a career slowly through a defined system Willingness to go beyond the call of duty when required Individuals who would put the organisations needs before any outside interests Individual expected: Organisation offered: Job security Job security Regular pay increases Regular pay increases based on length of service Recognition for length of service Status and rewards based on length of service Recognition of experience Respect for experience Table 3: Adapted from Pembertons model of the psychological contract (1998) Table 3 represented above describes the characteristics of the old psychological contract where the organisation provided job security and rewards based on length of service and the employees provided loyalty and commitment on their part. Sparrows (1996) interpretation of this new contract is outlined in table 4 below: Change vs Stability Continuous Change Culture Performance based reward Development Employees for self-development and increasing their employability. Emphasis on development of competencies and technical skills Rewards Paid on contribution Promotion Criterion Performance Promotion Prospects Fewer chances of promotion due to essentially flat organisational structures focus on sideways moves to develop a broader range of skills Relationship Type Transactional rather than relational; no job security guarantees Responsibility Accountability and innovation encouraged Status Fewer outward symbols Trust No longer seen as essential. Emphasis on engendering commitment to current project or team. Table 4: Adapted Sparrows new psychological contract (1996) These changes occurred against a background of economic hardship; redundancies were widespread, unemployment increasing and government focused on reducing trade union powers. The outcome was a more vulnerable and wary workforce. The economic climate forced companies to examine cost reduction as a means of sustaining or increasing profits. Human resource policies were cost effective rather than paternalistic. Staff were increasingly seen as resources who were useful for a specific role and either adaptable or replaceable when that role ended. The new contract is based on the offer of the employer to provide fair pay for the employee as well as providing opportunities for training and development. As a result of this, the employer can no longer offer Job security and as such has weakened the amount of commitment employees have to offer. Atkinson (2002) suggests that the new contract focuses on the need for highly skilled flexible employees who have little or no job security but are highly marketable outside the organisation. Bagshaw (1997) states that, in this new Psychological contract, individuals need to commit to five key areas which have both short term and long term views. They are Continuous learning, Team working, Goal setting, Proactive change management and Personal advocacy and networking (Bagshaw 1997 pg 188). He further argues that if these key areas are focused on, the employees will be raising their values of future employability. Furthermore, the common dialogue between the two parties with similar interests in mind will establish commitment and loyalty. The reasons for such changes were described by Herriot and Pemberton (1997) as the Restructuring and continuous change of organisations led to increased feelings of inequity and insecurity and as a result, motivation was affected negatively. Hall and Moss (1998) demonstrate the shifting of the psychological contract using three stages of adaptation. The first stage, they described as the trauma of change state and they argued that a lot of organisations go through this stage. The second stage they described as adapting to the new contract where they estimated a 7-year period may be needed in order to fully adapt to the new contract stressing its not a linear process and as such it is possible to fall back to previous states. The third stage is described by Atkinson (2002) as the point of gradual change and continuous learning, valuing the employee and offering loyalty to employees based on performance and development. This stage seeks to avoid the trauma of the changing contract by offering fundamental respect for the individuals involved. Hall and Moss (1998) argue that changes to the psychological contract are possible without going through the first and second stages if handled appropriately. Atkinson (2002) further develops two concepts that emerge from long term management of the contract. The first is that organisations that are successful will provide opportunities and resources to enable individuals to develop their own careers through a relational approach. The second is that organisations will need to be more effective in renegotiating contracts and minimising risks of violating contracts (Rajan, 1997). This is because violating contracts will have negative impacts on employee attitudes and motivation. 2.4 Employer and Employee Perceptions Shore and Barksdale (1998) describe a productive employment relationship as one in which a degree of balance in perceived employee-employer obligations exist. This degree of balance suggests a mutual supporting relationship in which employees offer their skills and organisational commitment in return for rewards from the organisation. Winter and Jackson(2006) argue the need to consider both employer and employee perspectives, they suggested that it will enable investigation into the perceptions of mutuality of both parties and through this process, evaluate how well the employer has fulfilled his obligations to the employees and vice versa. Rousseau (1995) states that psychological contracts are formulated in the minds of the individuals and as a result reflect individual beliefs shaped by the organisation in regards to exchange terms between the employee and the organisation (Winter and Jackson 2006). Rousseau (1995) stresses the need for a link between the employees promises and obligations towards the organisation and that of the employer towards the employee. This is because of the differences in perceptions of both employers and employees of what constitutes the conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement (Winter and Jackson 2006). Figure 1 Contracting Transitions (Herriot et al 1998 pg 102) Figure 1. Above describes the employment relationship of both employer and employee with transitions employees are likely willing to make and what they are able to offer in return. Herriot (1998) describe the process of contracting and negotiating between the employer and employee with a need for organisations to discover individual or group wants and match them with their own wants and offers through negotiation. Holbeche (1998) describes what employers perceptions of employees obligations are, as: Employees will take responsibility for managing their own careers Be loyal and committed Be dispensable when they are surplus to requirements Be adaptable and willing to learn new skills and work processes Holbeche (1998) further suggests the main components of employee expectations as: To be more employable in exchange for job security For organisation to support career development in return for loyalty For high skills and expertise to be recognised and duel rewarded According to Armstrong and Stephens (2005), a positive psychological contract is strongly linked to higher employee satisfaction, better employment relations and higher commitment to the organisation. They further suggest how performance management processes can help clarify the psychological contract and make it more positive through: Defining the level of support to be exercised by managers. Providing non-monetary rewards that reinforce the messages about expectation. Providing a basis for the joint agreement and definition of roles. Providing financial rewards through schemes that deliver messages about what the organisation believes to be important. Shields (2007), states, trust has been discovered to be a critical factor in employee behaviour and outlook. He further argues that when the level of trust between employers and employees fall, employee commitments and satisfaction deteriorate as well as motivation and effort. Guest and Conway (1997) outlined the following set of practices as having the most positive influence on employee work attitudes and behaviour and they are: Job security Training Opportunities High Pay Open communications Employee involvement programs According to Turnley et al (2003), psychological contract breach results in a number of negative results which include, lower levels of employee commitment, increased cynicism, reduced trust, reduced job satisfaction and high turnover. 2.5 Employee Motivation and the Psychological Contract Employee Psychological contracts are defined by Flannery (2002) as the important additional component to an employees job description which makes the job worth doing and reflects the main source of employees motivation. These contracts are part of what motivates employees to be productive at work and enables them to give their all at work. Shore and Barksdale (1998) discovered that employees reported higher levels of commitment, lower levels of turnover and higher organizational support when their employment relationships with their organisations were fulfilled. Rousseau (2004) suggests three ways in which employees design their own psychological contract. First, through their career aspirations, employees make different commitments to the organisation based on whether they view it as a long term employment possibility or a short term one which they need to move on to attain better opportunities. Employees with a stepping stone perspective tend to adopt transactional contracts while employees with long term employment possibilities tend to be more relational in contract nature. The second determinant is the personality of the individual, employees that are highly neurotic will tend to adapt more transactional contracts because they tend to reject actions by organisations to build relationships while conscientious workers on the other hand who possess great value for duty are more likely to have relational contracts. Thirdly, Rousseau states that employees who have negotiated special arrangements that are not usually available to others usually believe they relational contracts. This is because they have negotiated for opportunities for training and development which are special arrangements and a feature of relational contracts. A survey conducted by Guest and Conway (1997) on The Motivation and effort of employees discovered that the more motivated employees had a more positive psychological contract which presupposes that employees who are satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organisations report higher levels of general motivation so also do those with a positive psychological contract (Guest and Conway 1997). It was also discovered that attitudes have the highest influence on reported levels of motivation. Osteraker (1999) suggests there is a link between values and needs stating that individual needs, influence motivation and those needs determine how individuals will behave. Osteraker (1999) further stresses that values and attitudes can change over time due to a change in the organisation such as downsizing and restructuring.   2.6 Culture Hofstede (1984) suggests that different cultures imply different mental programming that controls activities, values and motivations. Therefore, organisational commitment is a psychological state that characterises the employees relationship with the organisation (Kong 2007). Culture is described as consisting of a system of values, attitudes, belief and behavioural meanings shared by members of a society (Thomas et al 2003). According to King and Bu (2005) employees of different cultural traditions and socio-economic environments are more likely to have very different perceptions on employer-employee relations. The type of psychological contract that individual employees will form with their employers is influenced by the personality traits, societal values and cultural norms of that particular individual (Raja et al 2004). This further implies that individual personality traits and cultural norms could provide a system that will explain why employees facing similar work environment and work conditions may form very different employment relationships with their employers (Zhao and Chen 2008).   These norms, values and beliefs provide a framework that will determine the way individuals behave and act accordingly. Individualism is defined by Gould and Kolb (1964) as an emphasis on ones self as separate from the others and an end in itself. The individual is independent and self reliant believes in self development and competition. In collectivism, the self often overlaps with a group. The main focus is on cooperation with a group, interdependence, social norms with the group comprising of t he main unit of social perception with individuals viewed as embedded in a universe of relationships (Lebra 1984). According to Thomas et al (2003)   individualism refers to the tendency to be more concerned about consequences of behaviours of ones personal goals through viewing oneself as independent of others while collectivism on the other hand refers to view oneself as interdependent with selected others with consequences of behaviour for the group as a whole and group interest. Research carried out by Zhao and Chen (2008) discovered, that individuals with an individualistic cultural value tended to form more transactional psychological contracts while people with a collectivism cultural value formed more relational contracts. It was discovered that collectivism motives tend to avoid differentiation and focus on relational contracts while self motives were more transactional in nature. This goes in line with research conducted by Lee (2000) where it was discovered that relational contracts are more likely related to behaviour in work groups in Hong Kong than in the United States. 2.6.1 Culture, Personalities and the Psychological Contract Rousseau (1995) outlines the two most important influences of employees psychological contract and they are both the organisational influences and employees personal dispositions. According to Tallman and Bruning (2008), the way employees interpret information from their employers, their observations of actions and activities in the workplace, together with their personal dispositions are theorised to create idiosyncratic contract attitudes in the minds of employees. Additionally, if management understand the factors that influence the development of employee psychological contracts, they may be able to manage these contracts more effectively (Tallman and Bruning 2008). Research carried out by Raja (2004) established a link that connected several facets of employee personality to their psychological contracts. Their research examined personality traits, including extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism and the extent to which these personality constructs related to employees choice of a transactional and relational psychological contracts. People high in neuroticism have poor job attitudes and they are unlikely to give of themselves other than what is necessary to maintain their jobs (Tallman and Bruning 2008). Kichuk and Wiesner (1997) further argue that people high in neuroticism are fearful, angry and functions as poor team performers with poor attitudes towards change. N

The Legalization of Marijuana :: Legal Illegal Marijuana Pot Law

The debate over the legalization of marijuana is active in the United States. The problem is, most people aren’t fully educated on the good things that marijuana can bring forth. For thousands of years marijuana was not only legal, it was a common crop. It is only in the past ninety years or so that marijuana has been found to be not only unusable, buy also harmful and extremely illegal in the United States. With all the information I have received and statistics I have discovered, I am a strong advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana in the United States. It is very understandable if people believe that the use of marijuana is morally wrong. This is an argument that many people have against the legalization of the drug. My belief is that, there are many things that people find morally wrong and would never do themselves, but are still legal. Just because marijuana is legal does not mean it is being forced upon you. Everyone should be able to make that decision on his or her own. Marijuana use is known as a â€Å"victimless crime,† which means it can only harm the user, therefore shouldn’t the user make that decision on their own? I believe that one of the main reasons marijuana should be legal is because of the way it was criminalized in the first place. In the years before the depression there was a significant growth of Mexican-Americans in the Western part of the United States as a result of the revolution in Mexico in 1910. As the depression hit, larger farms started using the Mexicans as cheaper labor, which in turn put many smaller farmers out of business and caused much tension. These Mexican laborers were known to use the marijuana plant as a recreational drug by smoking the leaves of the plant. Sprouting from the many Mexicans working on farms, many farms harvesting the hemp plant popped up in Mexico itself. Around the same time many Mormons from the Salt Lake City area were traveling to Mexico. In their return they would bring back marijuana for the sole purpose of recreational use. The Mormon Church did not approve of this behavior and ruled against it, which in turn prompted the very religious state of Utah to pass the first known law against marijuana in 1915. Many other Western states followed in years to come. But, it was not until the state of Montana outlawed the drug in 1927 that the truth behind the outlaw came out.

Cloning :: essays research papers

Millions of people. They all look alike, think alike, and dress alike. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, right? Well, with cloning it’s possible, maybe. They will look alike, but that’s about it. Cloning will help the world, not make it the same. Three pros to cloning are that cloning may hold the secret to eternal youth, the research of genes has changed the thinking of scientists, and that parents would be able to have a child who looks exactly like a model, movie star, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, cloning could lead to the discovery of the secret to eternal youth. If anyone had a chance to live forever, they would take it. If anyone could have a child who could live forever, they would do it. Cloning may be the answer to eternal youth. â€Å"He said the creation of transgenetic animals could be an important tool in ... ultimately stopping -- the aging process.† Becoming immortal is not the only plus to cloning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, the research of cloning has helped scientists become aware of the way genes operate. With continuous research into the ways of cloning scientists could come to understand the ways cells and genes work. As the information grows we will be able to get rid of genetic diseases and defects. â€Å"As geneticists have come to understand the ways in which genes operate, they have also become aware of the myriad ways in which the environment affects their ‘expression.’† In the future people will be able to decide what their child will look like and what kind of base intelligence the child will have, but they will not be able to decide the child’s fate. For the people who want to control what their children will look like, there is the possibility of cloning a famous person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, parents will be able to clone a model’s appearance so that their child looks exactly like the person. This would get rid of a feeling of not being beautiful and would allow people to worry about more important things than what other people think a bout them. â€Å"Suppose a couple wants a ‘designer child’ - a clone of Cindy Crawford or Elizabeth Taylor -- because they want a daughter who will grow up to be as attractive as those women.† This would be possible because of the fact that the child would not think or act like the person they were cloned from, they would only look the same.

The Criminalization of the Mentally Ill Essays -- Prison for Individua

Problem Analysis: The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and of that over sixty percent of jail inmates reported having a mental health issue and 316,000 of them are severely mentally ill (Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Correctional facilities in the United States have become the primary mental health institutions today (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). This imprisonment of the mentally ill in the United States has increased the incarceration rate and has left those individuals medically untreated and emotionally unstable while in jail and after being released. Better housing facilities, medical treatment and psychiatric counseling can be helpful in alleviating their illness as well as upon their release. This paper will explore the increasing incarceration rate of the mentally ill in the jails and prisons of the United States, the lack of medical services available to the mentally ill, the roles of the police, the correctional officers and the community and the revolving door phenom enon (Soderstrom, 2007). It will also review some of the existing and present policies that have been ineffective and present new policies that can be effective with the proper resources and training. The main objective of this paper is to illustrate that the criminalization of the mentally ill has become a public health problem and that our policy should focus more on rehabilitation rather than punishment. A huge factor in the prevalence of mental health problems in United States prison and jail inmates is believed to be due to the policy of deinstitutionalization. Many of the mentally ill were treated in publicly funded hospitals up until the 1960’s. Due to budget cuts and underfunding of community mental health services we ... ...aluating mental health courts as an ideal mental health intervention. Best Practices in Mental Health, 21-37. Lamb, H. R. (2004). Mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system: Some perspectives. Psychiatric Quarterly, 108-126. Markowitz, F. E. (2011). Mental illness, crime, and violence: Risk, context, and social control. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 36-44. Raphael, S. &. (2013). Assessing the Contribution of the Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill to Growth in the U.S. Incarceration Rate. The Journal of Legal Studies, 187-220. Rock, M. (2001). Emerging issues with mentally ill offenders: Casues and social consequences. Administration and Policy in Mental Health., 165-180. Soderstrom, I. R. (2007). Mental illness in offender populations: Prevalance, duty, and implications. Mental health issues in the criminal justice system., 1-17. The Criminalization of the Mentally Ill Essays -- Prison for Individua Problem Analysis: The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and of that over sixty percent of jail inmates reported having a mental health issue and 316,000 of them are severely mentally ill (Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Correctional facilities in the United States have become the primary mental health institutions today (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). This imprisonment of the mentally ill in the United States has increased the incarceration rate and has left those individuals medically untreated and emotionally unstable while in jail and after being released. Better housing facilities, medical treatment and psychiatric counseling can be helpful in alleviating their illness as well as upon their release. This paper will explore the increasing incarceration rate of the mentally ill in the jails and prisons of the United States, the lack of medical services available to the mentally ill, the roles of the police, the correctional officers and the community and the revolving door phenom enon (Soderstrom, 2007). It will also review some of the existing and present policies that have been ineffective and present new policies that can be effective with the proper resources and training. The main objective of this paper is to illustrate that the criminalization of the mentally ill has become a public health problem and that our policy should focus more on rehabilitation rather than punishment. A huge factor in the prevalence of mental health problems in United States prison and jail inmates is believed to be due to the policy of deinstitutionalization. Many of the mentally ill were treated in publicly funded hospitals up until the 1960’s. Due to budget cuts and underfunding of community mental health services we ... ...aluating mental health courts as an ideal mental health intervention. Best Practices in Mental Health, 21-37. Lamb, H. R. (2004). Mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system: Some perspectives. Psychiatric Quarterly, 108-126. Markowitz, F. E. (2011). Mental illness, crime, and violence: Risk, context, and social control. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 36-44. Raphael, S. &. (2013). Assessing the Contribution of the Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill to Growth in the U.S. Incarceration Rate. The Journal of Legal Studies, 187-220. Rock, M. (2001). Emerging issues with mentally ill offenders: Casues and social consequences. Administration and Policy in Mental Health., 165-180. Soderstrom, I. R. (2007). Mental illness in offender populations: Prevalance, duty, and implications. Mental health issues in the criminal justice system., 1-17.