The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships

The face that launched a thousand ships is a well-known figure of speech  and a snippet of 17th-century poetry that refers to Helen of Troy. The poetry of Shakespeares contemporary English playwright Christopher Marlowe is responsible for what is among the most lovely and famous lines in English literature. Was this the face that launched a thousand shipsAnd burnt the topless towers of Illium?Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss... The line comes from Marlowes play The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, published in 1604. In the play, Faustus is an ambitious man, who has decided that necromancy--speaking to the dead--is the only path to the power he seeks. The risk of communing with dead spirits, however, is that raising them can make you their master, or their slave. Faustus, conjuring on his own, makes a deal with the demon Mephistopheles, and one of the spirits Faustus raises is Helen of Troy. Because he cannot resist her, he makes her his paramour  and is damned forever. Helen in the Iliad According to Homers The Iliad, Helen was the wife of the king of Sparta, Menelaus. She was so beautiful that Greek men went to Troy and fought the Trojan War to win her back from her lover Paris. The thousand ships in Marlowes play refer to the Greek army who set sail from Aulis to war with the Trojans and burn down Troy (Greek nameIllium). But the immortality requested results in the curse of Mephistopheles and the damnation of Faustus. Helen had been abducted before she married Menelaus, so Menelaus knew it could happen again. Before Helen of Sparta married Menelaus, all the Greek suitors, and she had had quite a few, swore an oath to aid Menelaus should he ever need their help retrieving his wife. Those suitors or their sons brought their own troops and ships to Troy. The Trojan War may have actually happened. The stories about it, best known from the author known as Homer, say it lasted 10 years. At the end of the Trojan War, the belly of the Trojan Horse (from which we get the expression beware of Greeks bearing gifts) sneakily transported Greeks into Troy where they set fire to the city, killed the Trojan men, and took many of the Trojan women as concubines. Helen of Troy returned to her original husband, Menelaus. Helen as an Icon; Marlowes Play on Words Marlowes phrase is not to be taken literally, of course, its an example of what English scholars call metalepsis, a stylistic flourish that skips from X to Z, bypassing Y: of course, Helens face didnt launch any ships, Marlowe is saying she caused the Trojan War. Today the phrase is most commonly used as a metaphor for beauty and its seductive and destructive force. There have been several books exploring the feminist considerations of Helen and her treacherous beauty, including one well-received novel from historian Bettany Hughes (Helen of Troy: The Story Behind the Most Beautiful Woman in the World). The phrase has also been used to describe women from the first lady of the Phillippines Imelda Marcos (the face that launched a thousand votes) to consumer spokesperson Betty Furness (the face that launched a thousand refrigerators). Youre starting to think Marlowes quote is not entirely friendly, arent you? And youd be right. Fun With Helen Communications scholars such as J.A. DeVito have long used Marlowes phrase to illustrate how the use of stress on a single word of a sentence can change the meaning. Practice the following, stressing the italicized word and youll see what we mean. Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?Is this the face that launched a thousand ships? Finally, says mathematician Ed Barbeau: If a face could launch a thousand ships, what would it take to launch five? Of course, the answer is 0.0005 face. Sources Cahill EJ. 1997. Remembering Betty Furness and Action 4. Advancing the Consumer Interest 9(1):24-26. DeVito JA. 1989. Silence and paralanguage as communication. ETC: A Review of General Semantics 46(2):153-157. Barbeau E. 2001. Fallacies, Flaws, and Flimflam. The College Mathematics Journal 32(1):48-51. George TJS. 1969. Philippines Chance to Get Moving. Economic and Political Weekly 4(49):1880-1881. Greg WW. 1946. The Damnation of Faustus. The Modern Language Review 41(2):97-107. Hughes, Bettany. Helen of Troy: The Story Behind the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Paperback, Reprint edition, Vintage, January 9, 2007. Moulton IF. 2005. Review of Wanton Words: Rhetoric and Sexuality in English Renaissance Drama, by Madhavi Menon. The Sixteenth Century Journal 36(3):947-949. Edited by K. Kris Hirst

The Influence of Dantes Inferno Essay - 1380 Words

Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is an epic poem that begins with the Inferno. The Inferno is an extremely influential part of European literature. The structure of story is for many people a piece of the vision of Hell. Religiously, this poem has had great prevalence. Dante paints a picture of the Hell that is both unsettling and justifiable. A whole world is created through his poem. The levels and intensity of sin is pondered. Crime is put to a level of small to large scale. Those that are intentional and calculated are deemed more heinous than those that are out of passion. There are many reasons why this piece of literature make me think and develops my own ideas of what lies beyond this world. Dante’s Inferno causes†¦show more content†¦The idea of eternal punishment definitely helps to fuel my own religious intent. â€Å"†¦what sort of souls are these you see around you. Now you should know before we go farther on, they have not sinned. But their great worth alone was not enough, for they did not know Baptism,† (Dante 32-35) this quote from the Inferno is troublesome (Dante 32-35). This is from the First Circle of Hell, Limbo, which is not full of sinners. Yet, their souls are considered to be unclean because they were never baptized because of this they are never allowed to see Christ’s face. This is emotionally up heaving for those that do have religion. True Christians have great hope that they will see the face of God. My religion is tested through this because I know sin. Even this fictional depiction of Hell, which helps me to visualize what that place would be like, is mortifying. Will my sin take me to a level of Hell, where I will be tortured throughout eternity? The people of Limbo were simply placed there because they were never baptized. Those in Limbo suffer with their desire, but in life they did no true wrong. This idea that those that do not commit sin still do not see God’s face makes t he question of religion even more imperative. A person can do so little wrong, but from Dante’s perspective have no moral ground to be considered worthy of redemption. This vision of Hell is very captivating in terms of religious questioning. The model of Dante’s vision of hell isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Outside Influences on Dante’s Inferno 832 Words   |  4 PagesAnyone who has read Dante’s Inferno is familiar with a certain main character, Virgil. Who is this Virgil that Dante put in his book and where did Dante get the idea of having Virgil as his guide on Dante’s journey through the spirit world? In addition to Virgil, readers of Inferno are also familiar with concepts and characters such as God, angles, demons, Satan, and Hell. Where did Dante get these concepts? Dante did not come up with these ideas on his own, but used familiar characters and placesRead MoreThe Journey for Love Essay example601 Words   |  3 PagesThe Inferno, the dep ths of hell where all evil rests, is where Dante begins his journey. Dantes journey begins in a wilderness, and at this moment Dantes reasons for his journey become clear. Let us discuss the question as to why Dante goes on this journey through Hell. By doing so we will find the true meaning that Dante enters hell, which is so that he can find himself and most of all to return to his one true love of Beatrice. The first reason begins with Dante himself when he is in theRead MoreDante’s Inferno in Milton ´s Paradise Lost1326 Words   |  6 PagesMany arguments have been made that Dante’s Inferno glimmers through here and there in Milton’s Paradise Lost. 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Beatrice wants to help Dante find God again, but because she is an angelRead MoreLewis And The Silent Planet1326 Words   |  6 PagesOlivia Seeney Dr. Michael Elam ENGL 475 10/4/16 C.S. Lewis and the Influence of Dante in Out of the Silent Planet All throughout Lewis novels there is evidence that clearly connects the themes and symbolism from other aspects of traditional Christian literature both during and before he began writing. One of the most distinct examples of this occurring within Lewis’ works is the influence that Dante had on the concepts that he reflects on while conveying thoughts to his readers. This is specificallyRead MoreThe Divine Comedy1705 Words   |  7 Pagesof heartbreak with the influences of other famous poets like Homer and Virgil has affected his writing style, and through reviews by literary experts and their interpretation of Alighieri’s unique use of motifs, The Divine Comedy can be broken down to a epic that expresses a global message of human life. I. To understand The Divine Comedy and its impact, an understanding of Dante Alighieri’s life of tragic love and civil war can assist in unraveling the truth on Dante’s philosophical epic. Alighieri’sRead MoreDantes Voyage Through Hell1490 Words   |  6 PagesThe Inferno was written by Dante Alighieri around 1314 and depicts the poet’s imaginary journey through Hell. Dante spent his life traveling from court to court both lecturing and writing down his experiences. His Divine Comedy – the three-part epic poem consisting of Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso (Hell, Purgatory and Heaven)– is generally regarded as one of the greatest poetic feats ever accomplished. All three parts are incredible literary feats with symbolism so complex and beautiful thatRead More Analysis of Robert Frosts Fire and Ice Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesUpon closer examination of Fire and Ice, I found a distinct   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   parallel that closely mirrors the tale of Dantes Inferno. The Inferno is   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the first part of Dante Alighieris poem, the Divine Comedy, which   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   chronicles Dantes journey to God, and is made up of The Inferno (Hell),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise).   In The Inferno, Dante   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   begins his journey on the surface of the Earth, guided by the Roman epic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   poet VirgilRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, Islam, and Dante ´s: What Are We? Essay817 Words   |  4 Pages Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Dante’s: What are we? The Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieris epic three-part poem, The Divine Comedy. In this poem, Dante develops many themes throughout the adventures of his travelers from political to religious. The Inferno is a poem that Dante used to explain and show his ideas of Gods divine justice. Throughout this story religion comes up and shows the comparison of the different Hells and beliefs. This paper develops the connectionsRead MoreHell in Dantes Divine Comedy Essay example1364 Words   |  6 PagesHell in the divine Comedy and Aeneid In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante incorporates Virgil’s portrayal of Hades (In The Aeneid) into his poem, and similarities between the Inferno and Hades can be drawn, however Dante wasn’t attempting to duplicate Virgil’s works. Although the Hell depicted in Dante’s Inferno is essentially based on the literary construction of the underworld found in Virgil’s Aeneid, in their particulars the two kingdoms are quite different. Virgil’s underworld is largely

Homosexuality Is Not Understanding Its Origins - 1205 Words

Introduction In a time of social change and modernity, homosexuality has become a more talked about social topic, and it has evolved into its own culture. With growing numbers and heavy legality and morality surrounding it, homosexuality has faced an uphill battle all throughout the world. Part of the â€Å"problem† people see with homosexuality is not understanding its origins. Homosexuality is an unusual trait in the sense that it is not one that you would expect to persist evolutionarily as it does not directly contribute to reproduction, and yet it has persisted for at least thousands of years, tracing back to the ancient Greeks and Romans in recorded history (Verstraete, 1977). Its continued appearance in each successful generation, even though it seems counterintuitive from an evolutionary perspective, provides strong reasoning to suggest some mechanism is helping to maintain it as a trait. Clearly homosexuality is a complex characteristic that involves genetic, cul tural, and environmental factors. Many interpretations of these factors exist, so this paper will piece together the factors of homosexuality to allow for better understanding of how homosexuality has persisted as a genetic trait. Evidence regarding the birth order affect and the maternal stress theory will also be analyzed. The importance of this topic lies in the individuals themselves. Getting to the bottom of this question and showing the genetic factors surrounding homosexuality would illuminate theShow MoreRelatedSummary Of The Myth Of Homosexuality By Christine Downing851 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"The Myth of Homosexuality† by Christine Downing, there is the discussion of homosexuality and its meaning over the years. 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John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure Free Essays

string(111) " to criminal and noncriminal patterns\) not simply through any contact with persons who have violated the law\." Differential Association Theory Differential association theory was Sutherland’s major sociological contribution to criminology; similar in importance to strain theory and social control theory. These theories all explain deviance in terms of the individual’s social relationships. Sutherland’s theory departs from the pathological perspective and biological perspective by attributing the cause of crime to the social context of individuals. We will write a custom essay sample on John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"He rejected biological determinism and the extreme individualism of psychiatry, as well as economic explanations of crime. His search for an alternative understanding of crime led to the development of differential association theory. In contrast to both classical and biological theories, differential association theory poses no obvious threats to the humane treatment of those identified as criminals. â€Å"(Gaylord, 1988:1) The principle of differential association asserts that a person becomes delinquent because of an â€Å"excess† of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. In other word, criminal behavior emerges when one is exposed to more social message favoring conduct than prosocial messages (Sutherland, 1947). Sutherland argued that the concept of differential association and differential social organization could be applied to the individual level and to aggregation (or group) level respectively. While differential association theory explains why any individual gravitates toward criminal behavior, differential social organization explains why crime rates of different social entities different from each other’s. The first explicit statement of the theory of differential association appears in the 1939 edition of Principles of Criminology and in the fourth edition of it, he presented his final theory. His theory has 9 basic postulates. 1. Criminal behavior is learned. This means that criminal behavior is not inherited, as such; also the person who is not already trained in crime does not invent criminal behavior. 2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication. This communication is verbal in many cases but includes gestures. 3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. Negatively, this means the impersonal communication, such as movies or newspaper play a relatively unimportant part in committing criminal behavior. 4. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes (a) techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very simple; (b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. 5. The specific direction of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. This different context of situation usually is found in US where culture conflict in relation to the legal code exists. 6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. This is the principle of differential association. When people become criminal, they do so not only because of contacts with criminal patterns but also because of isolation from anticriminal patterns. Negatively, this means that association which are neutral so far as crime is concerned have little or no effect on the genesis of criminal behavior. . Differential association may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. Priority seems to be important principally through its selective influence and intensity has to do with such things as the prestige of the source of a criminal or anticriminal pattern and with emotional reactions related to the association. These modalities would be rated in quantitative form an d mathematical ratio but development of formula in this sense has not been developed and would be very difficult. 8. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. Negatively, this means that the learning of criminal behavior is not restricted to the process of imitation. A person who is seduced, for instance, learns criminal behavior by association, but this would not be ordinarily described as imitation. 9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values since non-criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values. Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but likewise honest laborers work in order to money. The attempts to explain criminal behavior by general drives and values such as the money motive have been, and must completely to be, futile, since they explain lawful behavior as completely as they explain criminal behavior. They are similar to respiration, which is necessary for any behavior, but which does not differentiate criminal from noncriminal behavior. (Sutherland, 1974: 75-76) In summary, he believed that an individual’s associations are determined in a general context of social organization (for instance, family income as a factor of determining residence of family and in many cases, delinquency rate is largely related to the rental value of houses) and thus differential group organization as an explanation of various crime rates is consistent with the differential association theory. (Sutherland, 1974: 77) Much of Sutherland’s theory relied upon the work of Chicago school theorists, Shaw and McKay (1931,1969). According to Shaw and McKay, they found that â€Å"delinquency rates increased as one moved away from the center of the city, and ecological rates of delinquency remained stable over generations despite a complete turnover of ethnic composition and social disorganization explained the high rates of delinquency in the inner-city. † (Matsueda: 1988: 280) As a matter of fact, this statement requires qualification because once you pass through the zone in transition, delinquency rates drop as you move out towards the suburbs. Criticism and Contemporary Views Many criticized Sutherland’s differential association theory; supporters argued that criticism often resulted from misinterpretation of Sutherland’s theory. Donald R. Cressey argued persuasively that many of the critiques were simply â€Å"literary errors† or misinterpretation on the part of the critics. For example, the theory was judged by critics to be invalid because not everyone who had come into contact with criminals became criminal as a result. This misinterprets the theory’s proposition that criminal behavior is learned through differential association (relative exposure to criminal and noncriminal patterns) not simply through any contact with persons who have violated the law. You read "John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure" in category "Essay examples" (Akers: 1996:229) However, Cressey also pointed out two major weaknesses of Sutherland’s theory. the first problem was that the concept of â€Å"definitions† in the theory was not precisely defined, and the statement did not give good guidance on how to operationalize the ratio or â€Å"excess of definitions† favorable to criminal behavior over definitions unfavorable to criminal behavior. The second real problem was that it left the learning process unspecified. There is virtually no clue in Sutherland’s theory as to what in particular would be included in â€Å"all the mechanisms that are involved in any of other learning (Akers: 1996:229-230) Another important criticism argued that Sutherland’s theory is a â€Å"cultural deviance† theory as a way of showing that it made wrong presumptions about human behavior and the role of culture in deviant behavior. Matsueda (1988) believed it â€Å"reduces his (Sutherland’s) theory to a caricature† and Bernard objected to the way in which the cultural deviance label has been applied to the original differential association and social learning revision†(Bernard and Snipes, 1995: Vold and Bernard, 1986: 227-229) But Akers denies this criticism as another misinterpretation of Sutherland’s theory: According to this critique, differential association/social learning theory rests on th e assumption that socialization is completely successful and that cultural variability is unlimited, cannot explain individual differences in deviance within the same group and applies only to group differences, has no way of explaining violation of norms to which the individual subscribes, and proposes culture as the single cause of crime. I conclude that the usual attribution of cultural deviance assumptions and explanation to differential association is based on misinterpretations. (Akers: 1996:229) Merton Theory Like many sociological theories of crime, Robert Merton’s strain/anomie theory has advanced following the work of Emile Durkheim. In Merton’s theory anomie is very similar to the very meaning of the word strain, as he proposed anomie to be a situation in which societies inadvertently bring to bear pressure, or strain, on individuals that can lead to rule-breaking behavior. This pressure, or strain if you will, is caused by the discrepancy between culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. To illustrate this Merton argues that the dominant cultural goal in the U. S is the acquisition of wealth, as a message was depicted that happiness often equated with material success which is often associated with wealth. The socially accepted institutionalized manner of achieving these material goals was believed to be hard work and education, meaning it is widely believed that people who apply themselves to study and work will succeed financially and that those who do not succeed are labeled as either lazy or defective. According to Merton, the problem with this type of society is that the legitimate means for achieving material success are not uniformly distributed. In other words, those from wealthier backgrounds have considerably more access to legitimate means than do those who are economically disadvantaged. As a consequence, anomie, or strain, is generated and produces certain ‘modes of adaptation’, or (simply put) coping strategies, that the disadvantaged use to deal with the pressures that are brought to bear on them. Merton identifies five modes of adaptation: conformity, innovation, retreatism, ritualism, and rebellion. According to Merton, the innovator is the most likely to engage in criminal behavior, as the innovator accepts the socially recognized goals of society, but reject the legitimate means to achieve these goals. Consequently, the innovator uses proceeds from crimes such as fraud, theft, and illegal drug dealing to access culturally defined goals. Critique of Strain/Anomie theory Although Merton’s Strain theory continues to play a role in the sociological theorization of crime today, there are limitations to this theory of crime that have been identified. The first critique of this theory, put forth by Albert Cohen, addressed the fact that there is an ample amount of crime/delinquent behavior that is â€Å"non-utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic† (O’Grady, 2011), which highlights that not all crimes are explicable using Merton’s theory. Although Merton could explain crimes such as fraud and theft on the basis of innovation, he is unable to explain youth crimes that are often engaged in for social status rather than material acquisition. Furthermore, Strain/Anomie theory fails to adequately address issues such as race and gender. Additionally, Strain/Anomie theory is unable to explain the phenomena of white collar crime. [edit] Robert DubinRobert Dubin (1959) viewed deviance as a function of society, disputing the assumption that the deviant adaptations to situations of anomie are necessarily harmful to society. For example, an individual in the ritualistic adaptation is still playing by the rules and taking part in society. The only deviance lies in abandoning one or more of its culturally prescribed goals. Dubin argued that Merton’s focus on the relationship between society’s emphasized goals, and institutionalized prescribed means was inadequate. Dubin felt that a further distinction should be made between cultural goals, institutional means and institutional norms because individuals perceive norms subjectively, interpreting them and acting upon them differently. The personal educational experiences, values, and attitudes may predispose an individual to internalize a norm one way. Another individual with different experiences may legitimately internalize the same norm differently. Both may be acting rationally in their own terms, but the resulting behaviour is different. Dubin also extended Merton’s typology to fourteen, with particular interest in Innovation and Ritualism. Merton proposed that the innovative response to strain was accepting the goal, but rejecting the institutionally prescribed means of achieving the goal. The implication seemed to be that that not only did the individual reject the means, he must actively innovate illegitimate means as a substitute which would not always be true. Dubin also thought that a distinction should be made between the actual behaviour of the actor and the values that drove the behaviour. Instead of Innovation, Dubin proposed Behavioural Innovation and Value Innovation. Similarly, in Ritualism, he proposed Behavioural Ritualism and Value Ritualism (Dubin, 1959: 147-149). Merton (1959: 177-189) commented on Dubin’s revisions, claiming that although Dubin did make valid contributions, they took the focus off deviancy. [edit] Robert AgnewIn 1992, Robert Agnew asserted that strain theory could be central in explaining crime and deviance, but that it needed revision so that it was not tied to social class or cultural variables, but re-focused on norms. To this end, Agnew proposed a general strain theory that is neither structural nor interpersonal but rather individual and emotional, paying especial attention to an individual’s immediate social environment. He argued that an individual’s actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and actual or anticipated presentation of negative stimuli all result in strain. Anger and frustration confirm negative relationships. The resulting behavior patterns will often be characterized by more than their share of unilateral action because an individual will have a natural desire to avoid unpleasant rejections, and these unilateral actions (especially when antisocial) will further contribute to an individual’s alienation from society. If particular rejections are generalized into feelings that the environment is unsupportive, more strongly negative emotions may motivate the individual to engage in crime. This is most likely to be true for younger individuals, and Agnew suggested that research focus on the magnitude, recency, duration, and clustering of such strain-related events to determine whether a person copes with strain in a criminal or conforming manner. Temperament, intelligence, interpersonal skills, self-efficacy, the presence of conventional social support, and the absence of association with antisocial (e. g. , criminally inclined) age and status peers are chief among the factors Agnew identified as beneficial. [edit] Akers’ operationalization of Agnew’s theory: Sources of strainAkers (2000: 159) has operationalized Agnew’s version of the Strain Theory, as follows: Failure to achieve positively valued goals: he gap between expectations and actual achievements will derive from short- and long-term personal goals, and some of those goals will never be realized because of unavoidable circumstances including both inherent weaknesses and opportunities bloc ked by others; and the difference between the view of what a person believes the outcome should be and what actually results increases personal disappointment. Frustration is not necessarily due to any outside interference with valued goals, but a direct effect on anger, and has indirect effects on serious crime and aggression. Agnew and White (1992) have produced empirical evidence suggesting that general strain theory was positively able to relate delinquents and drug users, and that the strongest effect on the delinquents studied was the delinquency of their peers. They were interested in drug use because it did not appear to represent an attempt to direct anger or escape pain, but â€Å"is used primarily to manage the negative affect caused by strain. † Up to this point, strain theory had been concerned with types of strain rather than sources of strain whereas the stress of events can be shown to interfere with the achievement of natural expectations or just and fair outcomes. These may be significant events or minor â€Å"hassles† that accumulate and demoralize over time. Frustration leads to dissatisfaction, resentment, and anger — all the emotions customarily associated with strain in criminology. It is natural for individuals to feel distress when they are denied just rewards for their efforts when compared to the efforts and rewards given to similar others for similar outcomes. Agnew (1992) treats anger as the most critical emotion since it is almost always directed outwards and is often related to breakdowns in relationships. Research shows that the stress/crime relationship appears to hold regardless of guilt feelings, age, and capacity to cope when events occur simultaneously or in close succession. [edit] Zhang JieThe strain theory of suicide postulates that suicide is usually preceded by psychological strains. A psychological strain is formed by at least two stresses or pressures, pushing the individual to different directions. A strain can be a consequence of any of the four conflicts: differential values, discrepancy between aspiration and reality, relative deprivation, and lack of coping skills for a crisis. Psychological strains in the form of all the four sources have been tested and supported with a sample of suicide notes in the United States and in rural China through psychological autopsy studies. The strain theory of suicide forms a challenge to the psychiatric model popular among the suicidologists in the world. The strain theory of suicide is based on the theoretical frameworks established by previous sociologists, e. g. Durkheim (1951), Merton (1957), and Agnew (2006), and preliminary tests have been accomplished with some American (Zhang and Lester 2008) and Chinese data (Zhang 2010; Zhang, Dong, Delprino, and Zhou 2009; Zhang, Wieczorek, Conwell, and Tu 2011). There could be four types of strain that precede a suicide, and each can be derived from specific sources. A source of strain must consist of two, and at least two, conflicting social facts. If the two social facts are non-contradictory, there would be no strain. Strain Source 1: Differential Values When two conflicting social values or beliefs are competing in an individual’s daily life, the person experiences value strain. The two conflicting social facts are competing personal beliefs internalized in the person’s value system. A cult member may experience strain if the mainstream culture and the cult religion are both considered important in the cult member’s daily life. Other examples include the second generation of immigrants in the United States who have to abide by the ethnic culture rules enforced in the family while simultaneously adapting to the American culture with peers and school. In China, rural young women appreciate gender egalitarianism advocated by the communist government, but at the same time, they are trapped in cultural sexual discrimination as traditionally cultivated by Confucianism. Another example that might be found in developing countries is the differential values of traditional collectivism and modern individualism. When the two conflicting values are taken as equally important in a person’s daily life, the person experiences great strain. When one value is more important than the other, there is then little or no strain. Strain Source 2: Reality vs. Aspiration If there is a discrepancy between an individual’s aspiration or a high goal and the reality the person has to live with, the person experiences aspiration strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s splendid ideal or goal and the reality that may prevent one from achieving it. An individual living in the United States expects to be very rich or at least moderately successful as other Americans do, but in reality the means to achieve the goal is not equally available to the person because of his/her social status or any other reasons. Aspirations or goals can be a college a person aims to get in, an ideal girl a boy wants to marry, and a political cause a person strives for, etc. If the reality is far from the aspiration, the person experiences strain. Another example might be from rural China. A young woman aspiring to equal opportunity and equal treatment may have to live within the traditional and Confucian reality, exemplified by her family and village, which interferes with that goal. The larger the discrepancy between aspiration and reality, the greater the strain will be. Strain Source 3: Relative Deprivation In the situation where an extremely economically poor individual realizes some other people of the same or similar background are leading a much better life, the person experiences deprivation strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s own miserable life and the perceived richness of comparative others. A person living in absolute poverty, where there is no comparison with others, does not necessarily feel bad, miserable, or deprived. On the other hand, if the same poor person understands that other people like him/her live a better life, he or she may feel deprived because of these circumstances. In an economically polarized society where the rich and poor live geographically close to each other, people are more likely to feel this discrepancy. In today’s rural China, television, newspaper, magazines, and radio have brought home to rural youths how relatively affluent urban life is. Additionally, those young people who went to work in the cities (dagong) and returned to the village during holidays with luxury materials and exciting stories make the relative deprivation even more realistically perceived. Increased perception of deprivation indicates relatively greater strain for individuals. Strain Source 4: Deficient Coping Facing a life crisis, some individuals are not able to cope with it, and then they experience coping strain. The two conflicting social facts are life crisis and the appropriate coping capacity. All people who have experienced crises do not experience strain. A crisis may be a pressure or stress in daily life, and those individuals who are not able to cope with the crisis have strain. Such crises as loss of money, loss of status, loss of face, divorce, death of a loved one, etc. may lead to serious strain in the person who does not know how to cope with these negative life events. A high school boy who is constantly bullied and ridiculed by peers may experience great strain if he does not know how to deal with the situation. Likewise, a Chinese rural young woman who is frequently wronged by her mother-in-law may have strain if she is not psychologically ready to cope with a different situation by seeking support from other family members and the village. The less capable the coping skills, the stronger the strain when a crisis takes place. [edit] ReferencesO’Grady W. (2011). â€Å"Crime in Canadian Context. † Strain/anomie theory 92-94 Agnew, R. (1992). â€Å"Foundation for a General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(1), 47-87 Agnew, R. White, H. (1992). â€Å"An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(4): 475-99. Agnew, R. (1997). â€Å"The Nature and Determinants of Strain: Another Look at Durkheim and Merton. † Pp. 7-51 in The Future of Anomie Theory, edited by R. Agnew and N. Passas. Boston: Northeastern University Press. Agnew, R. (2009). â€Å"Revitalizing Merton: General Strain Theory. † Advances in Criminological Theory: The Origins of Am erican Criminology, Volume 16, edited by F. T. Cullen, F. Adler, C. L. Johnson, and A. J. Meyer. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Akers, R. (2000). Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles: Roxbury. Cloward, R. (1959). â€Å"Illegitimate Means, Anomie and Deviant Behavior. † American Sociological Review 24(2): 164- 76. Cloward, R. Ohlin, L. (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity. NY: Free Press. Cohen, A. (1955). Delinquent Boys. NY: Free Press. Cohen, A. (1965). â€Å"The Sociology of the Deviant Act: Anomie Theory and Beyond. † American Sociological Review 30: 5-14. Cohen, A. (1977). â€Å"The Concept of Criminal Organization. † British Journal of Criminology 17: 97-111. Dubin, R. (1959) â€Å"Deviant Behavior and Social Structure: Continuities in Social Theory. † American Sociological Review 24:147-163. Durkheim, E. (1897/1997). Suicide. NY: Free Press. Featherstone, R. Deflem, M. (2003). â€Å"Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Merton’s Two Theories. † Sociological Inquiry 73(4):471-489. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press. Marwah, Sanjay, and Mathieu Deflem. 2006. †Revisiting Merton: Continuities in the Theory of Anomie-and-Opportunity-Structures. † Pp. 57-76 in Sociological Theory and Criminological Research: Views from Europe and the United States, ed. M. Deflem. Amsterdam: Elsevier/JAI Press. Messner, S ; Rosenfeld, R. (1994). Crime and the American Dream. Belmont: Wadsworth. Polk, K. (1969). â€Å"Class, Strain and Rebellion Among Adolescents. † Social Problems 17: 214-24. Polk, K. , ; Schafer, W. (eds. ). (1972). Schools and Delinquency. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Agnew, Robert. 2006. â€Å"General Strain Theory: Current Status and Directions for Further Research. † Pp. 01-123 in Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory-Advances in Criminological Theory, edited by F. T. Cullen, J. P. Wright, and K. Blevins. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Durkheim, Emile. 1951. Suicide: A Study in Sociology. New York: Free Press (Original work published in 1897). IOM, ( Institute of Medicine). 2002. Reducing suicide: An American imperative. Washington, D. C. : National Academy Press. Mann, J. J. , C. Waternaux, G. L. Haas, and K. M. Malone. 1999. â€Å"Toward a clinical model of suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients. † American Journal of Psychiatry 156:181-189. Merton, R. K. 1957. Social Theory and Social Structure, rev. ed. New York: Free Press. NIMH. 2003. Research on Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality: National Institute of Mental Health. Phillips, Michael R, Gonghuan Yang, Yanping Zhang, L. Wang, H. Ji, and M. Zhou. 2002. â€Å"Risk factors for suicide in China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study. † The Lancet 360:1728-1736. Spitzer, R. L. , J. B. W. Williams, M. Gibbon, and A. B. First. 1988. Instruction Manual for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID, 6/1/88 Revision). New York: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute. Zhang, Jie. 2010. â€Å"Marriage and Suicide among Chinese Rural Young Women. † Social Forces 89:311-326. Zhang, Jie, Nini Dong, Robert Delprino, and Li Zhou. 2009. Psychological Strains Found From In-Depth Interviews With 105 Chinese Rural Youth Suicides. † Archives of Suicide Research 13:185 – 194. Zhang, Jie and Shenghua Jin. 1998. â€Å"Interpersonal relations and suicide ideation in China. † Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 124:79-94. Zhang, Jie and David Lester. 2008. â€Å"Psychological Tensions Found in Suicide Notes: A Test for the Strain Theory of Suicide. † Archives of Suicide Research 12:67-73. Zhang, Jie, William F. Wieczorek, Yeates Conwell, and Xin Ming Tu. 2011. â€Å"Psychological strains and youth suicide in rural China. † Social Science Medicine 72:2003-2010. Zhang, Jie. 2000. â€Å"Gender differences in athletic performance and their How to cite John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure, Essay examples

John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure Free Essays

string(111) " to criminal and noncriminal patterns\) not simply through any contact with persons who have violated the law\." Differential Association Theory Differential association theory was Sutherland’s major sociological contribution to criminology; similar in importance to strain theory and social control theory. These theories all explain deviance in terms of the individual’s social relationships. Sutherland’s theory departs from the pathological perspective and biological perspective by attributing the cause of crime to the social context of individuals. We will write a custom essay sample on John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"He rejected biological determinism and the extreme individualism of psychiatry, as well as economic explanations of crime. His search for an alternative understanding of crime led to the development of differential association theory. In contrast to both classical and biological theories, differential association theory poses no obvious threats to the humane treatment of those identified as criminals. â€Å"(Gaylord, 1988:1) The principle of differential association asserts that a person becomes delinquent because of an â€Å"excess† of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. In other word, criminal behavior emerges when one is exposed to more social message favoring conduct than prosocial messages (Sutherland, 1947). Sutherland argued that the concept of differential association and differential social organization could be applied to the individual level and to aggregation (or group) level respectively. While differential association theory explains why any individual gravitates toward criminal behavior, differential social organization explains why crime rates of different social entities different from each other’s. The first explicit statement of the theory of differential association appears in the 1939 edition of Principles of Criminology and in the fourth edition of it, he presented his final theory. His theory has 9 basic postulates. 1. Criminal behavior is learned. This means that criminal behavior is not inherited, as such; also the person who is not already trained in crime does not invent criminal behavior. 2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication. This communication is verbal in many cases but includes gestures. 3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. Negatively, this means the impersonal communication, such as movies or newspaper play a relatively unimportant part in committing criminal behavior. 4. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes (a) techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very simple; (b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. 5. The specific direction of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. This different context of situation usually is found in US where culture conflict in relation to the legal code exists. 6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. This is the principle of differential association. When people become criminal, they do so not only because of contacts with criminal patterns but also because of isolation from anticriminal patterns. Negatively, this means that association which are neutral so far as crime is concerned have little or no effect on the genesis of criminal behavior. . Differential association may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. Priority seems to be important principally through its selective influence and intensity has to do with such things as the prestige of the source of a criminal or anticriminal pattern and with emotional reactions related to the association. These modalities would be rated in quantitative form an d mathematical ratio but development of formula in this sense has not been developed and would be very difficult. 8. The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. Negatively, this means that the learning of criminal behavior is not restricted to the process of imitation. A person who is seduced, for instance, learns criminal behavior by association, but this would not be ordinarily described as imitation. 9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values since non-criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values. Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but likewise honest laborers work in order to money. The attempts to explain criminal behavior by general drives and values such as the money motive have been, and must completely to be, futile, since they explain lawful behavior as completely as they explain criminal behavior. They are similar to respiration, which is necessary for any behavior, but which does not differentiate criminal from noncriminal behavior. (Sutherland, 1974: 75-76) In summary, he believed that an individual’s associations are determined in a general context of social organization (for instance, family income as a factor of determining residence of family and in many cases, delinquency rate is largely related to the rental value of houses) and thus differential group organization as an explanation of various crime rates is consistent with the differential association theory. (Sutherland, 1974: 77) Much of Sutherland’s theory relied upon the work of Chicago school theorists, Shaw and McKay (1931,1969). According to Shaw and McKay, they found that â€Å"delinquency rates increased as one moved away from the center of the city, and ecological rates of delinquency remained stable over generations despite a complete turnover of ethnic composition and social disorganization explained the high rates of delinquency in the inner-city. † (Matsueda: 1988: 280) As a matter of fact, this statement requires qualification because once you pass through the zone in transition, delinquency rates drop as you move out towards the suburbs. Criticism and Contemporary Views Many criticized Sutherland’s differential association theory; supporters argued that criticism often resulted from misinterpretation of Sutherland’s theory. Donald R. Cressey argued persuasively that many of the critiques were simply â€Å"literary errors† or misinterpretation on the part of the critics. For example, the theory was judged by critics to be invalid because not everyone who had come into contact with criminals became criminal as a result. This misinterprets the theory’s proposition that criminal behavior is learned through differential association (relative exposure to criminal and noncriminal patterns) not simply through any contact with persons who have violated the law. You read "John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure" in category "Essay examples" (Akers: 1996:229) However, Cressey also pointed out two major weaknesses of Sutherland’s theory. the first problem was that the concept of â€Å"definitions† in the theory was not precisely defined, and the statement did not give good guidance on how to operationalize the ratio or â€Å"excess of definitions† favorable to criminal behavior over definitions unfavorable to criminal behavior. The second real problem was that it left the learning process unspecified. There is virtually no clue in Sutherland’s theory as to what in particular would be included in â€Å"all the mechanisms that are involved in any of other learning (Akers: 1996:229-230) Another important criticism argued that Sutherland’s theory is a â€Å"cultural deviance† theory as a way of showing that it made wrong presumptions about human behavior and the role of culture in deviant behavior. Matsueda (1988) believed it â€Å"reduces his (Sutherland’s) theory to a caricature† and Bernard objected to the way in which the cultural deviance label has been applied to the original differential association and social learning revision†(Bernard and Snipes, 1995: Vold and Bernard, 1986: 227-229) But Akers denies this criticism as another misinterpretation of Sutherland’s theory: According to this critique, differential association/social learning theory rests on th e assumption that socialization is completely successful and that cultural variability is unlimited, cannot explain individual differences in deviance within the same group and applies only to group differences, has no way of explaining violation of norms to which the individual subscribes, and proposes culture as the single cause of crime. I conclude that the usual attribution of cultural deviance assumptions and explanation to differential association is based on misinterpretations. (Akers: 1996:229) Merton Theory Like many sociological theories of crime, Robert Merton’s strain/anomie theory has advanced following the work of Emile Durkheim. In Merton’s theory anomie is very similar to the very meaning of the word strain, as he proposed anomie to be a situation in which societies inadvertently bring to bear pressure, or strain, on individuals that can lead to rule-breaking behavior. This pressure, or strain if you will, is caused by the discrepancy between culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. To illustrate this Merton argues that the dominant cultural goal in the U. S is the acquisition of wealth, as a message was depicted that happiness often equated with material success which is often associated with wealth. The socially accepted institutionalized manner of achieving these material goals was believed to be hard work and education, meaning it is widely believed that people who apply themselves to study and work will succeed financially and that those who do not succeed are labeled as either lazy or defective. According to Merton, the problem with this type of society is that the legitimate means for achieving material success are not uniformly distributed. In other words, those from wealthier backgrounds have considerably more access to legitimate means than do those who are economically disadvantaged. As a consequence, anomie, or strain, is generated and produces certain ‘modes of adaptation’, or (simply put) coping strategies, that the disadvantaged use to deal with the pressures that are brought to bear on them. Merton identifies five modes of adaptation: conformity, innovation, retreatism, ritualism, and rebellion. According to Merton, the innovator is the most likely to engage in criminal behavior, as the innovator accepts the socially recognized goals of society, but reject the legitimate means to achieve these goals. Consequently, the innovator uses proceeds from crimes such as fraud, theft, and illegal drug dealing to access culturally defined goals. Critique of Strain/Anomie theory Although Merton’s Strain theory continues to play a role in the sociological theorization of crime today, there are limitations to this theory of crime that have been identified. The first critique of this theory, put forth by Albert Cohen, addressed the fact that there is an ample amount of crime/delinquent behavior that is â€Å"non-utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic† (O’Grady, 2011), which highlights that not all crimes are explicable using Merton’s theory. Although Merton could explain crimes such as fraud and theft on the basis of innovation, he is unable to explain youth crimes that are often engaged in for social status rather than material acquisition. Furthermore, Strain/Anomie theory fails to adequately address issues such as race and gender. Additionally, Strain/Anomie theory is unable to explain the phenomena of white collar crime. [edit] Robert DubinRobert Dubin (1959) viewed deviance as a function of society, disputing the assumption that the deviant adaptations to situations of anomie are necessarily harmful to society. For example, an individual in the ritualistic adaptation is still playing by the rules and taking part in society. The only deviance lies in abandoning one or more of its culturally prescribed goals. Dubin argued that Merton’s focus on the relationship between society’s emphasized goals, and institutionalized prescribed means was inadequate. Dubin felt that a further distinction should be made between cultural goals, institutional means and institutional norms because individuals perceive norms subjectively, interpreting them and acting upon them differently. The personal educational experiences, values, and attitudes may predispose an individual to internalize a norm one way. Another individual with different experiences may legitimately internalize the same norm differently. Both may be acting rationally in their own terms, but the resulting behaviour is different. Dubin also extended Merton’s typology to fourteen, with particular interest in Innovation and Ritualism. Merton proposed that the innovative response to strain was accepting the goal, but rejecting the institutionally prescribed means of achieving the goal. The implication seemed to be that that not only did the individual reject the means, he must actively innovate illegitimate means as a substitute which would not always be true. Dubin also thought that a distinction should be made between the actual behaviour of the actor and the values that drove the behaviour. Instead of Innovation, Dubin proposed Behavioural Innovation and Value Innovation. Similarly, in Ritualism, he proposed Behavioural Ritualism and Value Ritualism (Dubin, 1959: 147-149). Merton (1959: 177-189) commented on Dubin’s revisions, claiming that although Dubin did make valid contributions, they took the focus off deviancy. [edit] Robert AgnewIn 1992, Robert Agnew asserted that strain theory could be central in explaining crime and deviance, but that it needed revision so that it was not tied to social class or cultural variables, but re-focused on norms. To this end, Agnew proposed a general strain theory that is neither structural nor interpersonal but rather individual and emotional, paying especial attention to an individual’s immediate social environment. He argued that an individual’s actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and actual or anticipated presentation of negative stimuli all result in strain. Anger and frustration confirm negative relationships. The resulting behavior patterns will often be characterized by more than their share of unilateral action because an individual will have a natural desire to avoid unpleasant rejections, and these unilateral actions (especially when antisocial) will further contribute to an individual’s alienation from society. If particular rejections are generalized into feelings that the environment is unsupportive, more strongly negative emotions may motivate the individual to engage in crime. This is most likely to be true for younger individuals, and Agnew suggested that research focus on the magnitude, recency, duration, and clustering of such strain-related events to determine whether a person copes with strain in a criminal or conforming manner. Temperament, intelligence, interpersonal skills, self-efficacy, the presence of conventional social support, and the absence of association with antisocial (e. g. , criminally inclined) age and status peers are chief among the factors Agnew identified as beneficial. [edit] Akers’ operationalization of Agnew’s theory: Sources of strainAkers (2000: 159) has operationalized Agnew’s version of the Strain Theory, as follows: Failure to achieve positively valued goals: he gap between expectations and actual achievements will derive from short- and long-term personal goals, and some of those goals will never be realized because of unavoidable circumstances including both inherent weaknesses and opportunities bloc ked by others; and the difference between the view of what a person believes the outcome should be and what actually results increases personal disappointment. Frustration is not necessarily due to any outside interference with valued goals, but a direct effect on anger, and has indirect effects on serious crime and aggression. Agnew and White (1992) have produced empirical evidence suggesting that general strain theory was positively able to relate delinquents and drug users, and that the strongest effect on the delinquents studied was the delinquency of their peers. They were interested in drug use because it did not appear to represent an attempt to direct anger or escape pain, but â€Å"is used primarily to manage the negative affect caused by strain. † Up to this point, strain theory had been concerned with types of strain rather than sources of strain whereas the stress of events can be shown to interfere with the achievement of natural expectations or just and fair outcomes. These may be significant events or minor â€Å"hassles† that accumulate and demoralize over time. Frustration leads to dissatisfaction, resentment, and anger — all the emotions customarily associated with strain in criminology. It is natural for individuals to feel distress when they are denied just rewards for their efforts when compared to the efforts and rewards given to similar others for similar outcomes. Agnew (1992) treats anger as the most critical emotion since it is almost always directed outwards and is often related to breakdowns in relationships. Research shows that the stress/crime relationship appears to hold regardless of guilt feelings, age, and capacity to cope when events occur simultaneously or in close succession. [edit] Zhang JieThe strain theory of suicide postulates that suicide is usually preceded by psychological strains. A psychological strain is formed by at least two stresses or pressures, pushing the individual to different directions. A strain can be a consequence of any of the four conflicts: differential values, discrepancy between aspiration and reality, relative deprivation, and lack of coping skills for a crisis. Psychological strains in the form of all the four sources have been tested and supported with a sample of suicide notes in the United States and in rural China through psychological autopsy studies. The strain theory of suicide forms a challenge to the psychiatric model popular among the suicidologists in the world. The strain theory of suicide is based on the theoretical frameworks established by previous sociologists, e. g. Durkheim (1951), Merton (1957), and Agnew (2006), and preliminary tests have been accomplished with some American (Zhang and Lester 2008) and Chinese data (Zhang 2010; Zhang, Dong, Delprino, and Zhou 2009; Zhang, Wieczorek, Conwell, and Tu 2011). There could be four types of strain that precede a suicide, and each can be derived from specific sources. A source of strain must consist of two, and at least two, conflicting social facts. If the two social facts are non-contradictory, there would be no strain. Strain Source 1: Differential Values When two conflicting social values or beliefs are competing in an individual’s daily life, the person experiences value strain. The two conflicting social facts are competing personal beliefs internalized in the person’s value system. A cult member may experience strain if the mainstream culture and the cult religion are both considered important in the cult member’s daily life. Other examples include the second generation of immigrants in the United States who have to abide by the ethnic culture rules enforced in the family while simultaneously adapting to the American culture with peers and school. In China, rural young women appreciate gender egalitarianism advocated by the communist government, but at the same time, they are trapped in cultural sexual discrimination as traditionally cultivated by Confucianism. Another example that might be found in developing countries is the differential values of traditional collectivism and modern individualism. When the two conflicting values are taken as equally important in a person’s daily life, the person experiences great strain. When one value is more important than the other, there is then little or no strain. Strain Source 2: Reality vs. Aspiration If there is a discrepancy between an individual’s aspiration or a high goal and the reality the person has to live with, the person experiences aspiration strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s splendid ideal or goal and the reality that may prevent one from achieving it. An individual living in the United States expects to be very rich or at least moderately successful as other Americans do, but in reality the means to achieve the goal is not equally available to the person because of his/her social status or any other reasons. Aspirations or goals can be a college a person aims to get in, an ideal girl a boy wants to marry, and a political cause a person strives for, etc. If the reality is far from the aspiration, the person experiences strain. Another example might be from rural China. A young woman aspiring to equal opportunity and equal treatment may have to live within the traditional and Confucian reality, exemplified by her family and village, which interferes with that goal. The larger the discrepancy between aspiration and reality, the greater the strain will be. Strain Source 3: Relative Deprivation In the situation where an extremely economically poor individual realizes some other people of the same or similar background are leading a much better life, the person experiences deprivation strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s own miserable life and the perceived richness of comparative others. A person living in absolute poverty, where there is no comparison with others, does not necessarily feel bad, miserable, or deprived. On the other hand, if the same poor person understands that other people like him/her live a better life, he or she may feel deprived because of these circumstances. In an economically polarized society where the rich and poor live geographically close to each other, people are more likely to feel this discrepancy. In today’s rural China, television, newspaper, magazines, and radio have brought home to rural youths how relatively affluent urban life is. Additionally, those young people who went to work in the cities (dagong) and returned to the village during holidays with luxury materials and exciting stories make the relative deprivation even more realistically perceived. Increased perception of deprivation indicates relatively greater strain for individuals. Strain Source 4: Deficient Coping Facing a life crisis, some individuals are not able to cope with it, and then they experience coping strain. The two conflicting social facts are life crisis and the appropriate coping capacity. All people who have experienced crises do not experience strain. A crisis may be a pressure or stress in daily life, and those individuals who are not able to cope with the crisis have strain. Such crises as loss of money, loss of status, loss of face, divorce, death of a loved one, etc. may lead to serious strain in the person who does not know how to cope with these negative life events. A high school boy who is constantly bullied and ridiculed by peers may experience great strain if he does not know how to deal with the situation. Likewise, a Chinese rural young woman who is frequently wronged by her mother-in-law may have strain if she is not psychologically ready to cope with a different situation by seeking support from other family members and the village. The less capable the coping skills, the stronger the strain when a crisis takes place. [edit] ReferencesO’Grady W. (2011). â€Å"Crime in Canadian Context. † Strain/anomie theory 92-94 Agnew, R. (1992). â€Å"Foundation for a General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(1), 47-87 Agnew, R. White, H. (1992). â€Å"An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(4): 475-99. Agnew, R. (1997). â€Å"The Nature and Determinants of Strain: Another Look at Durkheim and Merton. † Pp. 7-51 in The Future of Anomie Theory, edited by R. Agnew and N. Passas. Boston: Northeastern University Press. Agnew, R. (2009). â€Å"Revitalizing Merton: General Strain Theory. † Advances in Criminological Theory: The Origins of Am erican Criminology, Volume 16, edited by F. T. Cullen, F. Adler, C. L. Johnson, and A. J. Meyer. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Akers, R. (2000). Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles: Roxbury. Cloward, R. (1959). â€Å"Illegitimate Means, Anomie and Deviant Behavior. † American Sociological Review 24(2): 164- 76. Cloward, R. Ohlin, L. (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity. NY: Free Press. Cohen, A. (1955). Delinquent Boys. NY: Free Press. Cohen, A. (1965). â€Å"The Sociology of the Deviant Act: Anomie Theory and Beyond. † American Sociological Review 30: 5-14. Cohen, A. (1977). â€Å"The Concept of Criminal Organization. † British Journal of Criminology 17: 97-111. Dubin, R. (1959) â€Å"Deviant Behavior and Social Structure: Continuities in Social Theory. † American Sociological Review 24:147-163. Durkheim, E. (1897/1997). Suicide. NY: Free Press. Featherstone, R. Deflem, M. (2003). â€Å"Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Merton’s Two Theories. † Sociological Inquiry 73(4):471-489. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press. Marwah, Sanjay, and Mathieu Deflem. 2006. †Revisiting Merton: Continuities in the Theory of Anomie-and-Opportunity-Structures. † Pp. 57-76 in Sociological Theory and Criminological Research: Views from Europe and the United States, ed. M. Deflem. Amsterdam: Elsevier/JAI Press. Messner, S ; Rosenfeld, R. (1994). Crime and the American Dream. Belmont: Wadsworth. Polk, K. (1969). â€Å"Class, Strain and Rebellion Among Adolescents. † Social Problems 17: 214-24. Polk, K. , ; Schafer, W. (eds. ). (1972). Schools and Delinquency. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Agnew, Robert. 2006. â€Å"General Strain Theory: Current Status and Directions for Further Research. † Pp. 01-123 in Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory-Advances in Criminological Theory, edited by F. T. Cullen, J. P. Wright, and K. Blevins. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Durkheim, Emile. 1951. Suicide: A Study in Sociology. New York: Free Press (Original work published in 1897). IOM, ( Institute of Medicine). 2002. Reducing suicide: An American imperative. Washington, D. C. : National Academy Press. Mann, J. J. , C. Waternaux, G. L. Haas, and K. M. Malone. 1999. â€Å"Toward a clinical model of suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients. † American Journal of Psychiatry 156:181-189. Merton, R. K. 1957. Social Theory and Social Structure, rev. ed. New York: Free Press. NIMH. 2003. Research on Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality: National Institute of Mental Health. Phillips, Michael R, Gonghuan Yang, Yanping Zhang, L. Wang, H. Ji, and M. Zhou. 2002. â€Å"Risk factors for suicide in China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study. † The Lancet 360:1728-1736. Spitzer, R. L. , J. B. W. Williams, M. Gibbon, and A. B. First. 1988. Instruction Manual for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID, 6/1/88 Revision). New York: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute. Zhang, Jie. 2010. â€Å"Marriage and Suicide among Chinese Rural Young Women. † Social Forces 89:311-326. Zhang, Jie, Nini Dong, Robert Delprino, and Li Zhou. 2009. Psychological Strains Found From In-Depth Interviews With 105 Chinese Rural Youth Suicides. † Archives of Suicide Research 13:185 – 194. Zhang, Jie and Shenghua Jin. 1998. â€Å"Interpersonal relations and suicide ideation in China. † Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 124:79-94. Zhang, Jie and David Lester. 2008. â€Å"Psychological Tensions Found in Suicide Notes: A Test for the Strain Theory of Suicide. † Archives of Suicide Research 12:67-73. Zhang, Jie, William F. Wieczorek, Yeates Conwell, and Xin Ming Tu. 2011. â€Å"Psychological strains and youth suicide in rural China. † Social Science Medicine 72:2003-2010. Zhang, Jie. 2000. â€Å"Gender differences in athletic performance and their How to cite John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure, Essay examples

Migration Law The Migration Act 1958

Question: Describe about the Migration Law for The Migration Act 1958. Answer: 1. Billy is a citizen of New Zealand by status and he had migrated from New Zealand to Australia in 2001 when he was 21 years old. He had come to Australia with a special type of visa which is classified as subclass 444. This visa is allowed to the citizen of New Zealand to enter into Australia for the purpose of visit, study, stay or work at Australia. This visa is temporary in nature and can be continued till the applicant is citizen of New Zealand. There are certain conditions for availing this visa which Billy had met and he had joined a work at Tasmania in a mine[1]. Now Billy had reached the age of 36 and got accustomed with the life style of Australia. Along with other habits, he had gathered vices of Australian life culture. On day he drank in the pub with his friends to celebrate his birthday and got eradiated. Later on he had driven through the road with his car and run over four teenagers with the impact of his drinking habit. While he had been taken to the police watch house for dangerous driving with the influence of alcohol causing death, the next blow had come from his neighbor Sally Fields who had framed him with the charge of molestation of her 13 year old daughter Emily since when she was 7 years old. As a result, he had been convicted and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. It is also in the card, that he might be deported from Australia by the Minister. Being worried, he had sought for legal advices which had been given through the letter below: Letter to Billy Elliott Mr. Billy Elliott, dated 26.10.2016 Tasmania, Australia Subject: Legal advices sought for avoiding Deportation fro Australia Dear Sir, As you have requested for legal advices related to the above subject with the consequences of the latest happening of rash driving and child molestation caused by you, we are giving below the questions placed by you with the legal answers and justifications for your notice:- Question Is there any chance of my deportation from Australia for the latest happenings? Answer As the happening of rash driving caused by you resulted to loss of four innocent teenagers under the influence of alcohol and the child molestation, you are convicted and were sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Court. The next probable step by the Minister of deporting you from Australia may happen as you are charged with molestation and this directly raises finger about your character. Justification Migration Act of Australia, 1958 is covering the area of deportation u/s 201 and 501 with various clauses which are applicable in your case[2]. Given below the enforcement of section 201 of this act which is applicable for you related to eligibility criteria for this section: The person with the status of non-citizen is being convicted in Australia with an offence-U/s 201 (a) The convicted is a citizen of New Zealand who was privileged with the criterion of staying in Australia with the power of special category visa falling under subclass 444 u/s 201 (b) (ii). The person has committed the offence for which he was sentenced to imprisonment for not less than one year u/s 201(c)[3]. As per the record, you are qualifying the above conditions and may be legible for deportation from Australia. Given below the enforcement of section 501 of this act which is applicable to you so far refusal or cancellation of special type of visa on the ground of character by the Minister: This is entirely the prerogative of the Minister to cancel or refuse for further visa under special clause meant for New Zealand citizen covered under subclass 444 u/s 501 (1). The Minister may suspect if the candidate had not passed the character test where character test is defined under sub section 6 of this act u/s 501 ( 2) (a). The person could not justify his action to the Minister regarding the character test u/s 501 (2) (b)[4]. The Minister of Natural Justice has to satisfy himself that the person has not passed the character test under sub section 3A (a) with sub clauses (i) and (ii) Section 501 (3A) (b) highlights that the cancellation or refusal of visa may be done by the Minister in case of imprisonment of the person for violating Commonwealth Law. Section 501 (6) (c) implies that the past and present general conduct of that person towards an offence is encouraged. Sub clause of section 501 3A (a) (ii) says that the respective character test of the person is to be satisfactory for sexual offence, especially in case of child as specified in paragraph 6(e). To substantiate criminal record, section 501 (7) (c) had prioritized the issue of imprisonment of the person for more than 12 months[5]. From the above discussion, it can be concluded that you have no option for getting rid of deportation for cancellation of existing special visa or refusal of new visa for staying in Australia under subclass 444 for New Zealand citizen. But there is some scope of being pardoned by the Honored Minister under the clause of Pardon specified in section 501. There are two different clauses u/s 501 (10) (b) with sub section (i) and (ii). While (i) implies that the person is to be pardoned related to the offence, and (ii) implies that the person was earlier never convicted with that offence[6]. Hence with the above discussion and respective inference, it is advised by me that the plea for pardon is to be lodged to the Minister for not imposing deportation on you, if the same is being initiated by him with proper justification of emphasizing on section 501 sub section (10) (b) (ii). Hope the same will serve your purpose so far legality of anticipated deportation is concerned in case of the recent offences done by you. Thanking you, Yours truly, (S/D) Partner (ABC Solicitors) 2. In consideration of the cancellation of Billys visa under the ground of section 501, 501A and 501B of the Migration Act 1958 by the Minister with his personal decision, it has got enough scope of implying so. The discussion below will give the Minister the power to act so under different section as specified above[7]. Section 501 of Migration Act 1958 of Australia Section 501 of this act has given power to the Minister for cancellation of existing visa or refusal of renewing the visa to the foreign citizen under different clauses which emphasizes mainly on the issue of character test of the person. There are different pre-fixed norms related to this section regarding character test which are being clarified under section 501 paragraphs 6. In this specific case study Billy is a citizen of New Zealand who had come to Australia in 2001 at the age of twenty one and had got an employment in the Tasmania province. He had committed some offence lately which made him convicted with the imprisonment of five years. There are two offences made by Billy one is running over of four teenagers under the influence of alcohol and the other is charge of sexual molestation of a child of 13 years since she was at the age of 7. Both these offences are serious in nature and the Minister has the power to cancel the existing visa of Billy or to refuse the renewal of new visa for him to be in Australia. Section 501 of Migration Act 1958 has given the power to the minister to cancel the visa or refuse to issue a fresh visa for Billy who is staying in Australia with the special visa as he is the citizen of New Zealand. But section 501 subsections paragraph 6 has given clear direction to decide upon this domain related to character test. In this section special reflection is given on the molestation charges on sexual ground with child and left no scope for Billy to get rid of cancellation of visa[8]. Section 501A of Migration Act 1958 of Australia This section is emphasizing on the basic sections and respective of subsection which is mainly concentrating on the character test of the convicted along with the nature of offences. The character test, as per the norms set, is the only guideline for the Minister to cancel or disallow the visa. It is described in section 501A (2) that the Minister can set aside the standing visa with cancellation or refusal of new visa in case he suspects of the disqualification of the person related to character test . Character test is specifically categorized with different level of criminal offences and out of that molestation of child under the ground of sexual offence is specifically mentioned. As Billy is convicted with that along with rash driving under the influence of alcohol for which he was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Both these offences had created enough ground for Billy to get his existing visa cancelled. The minister has the right to exercise the power under subsection (2) o r (3) and the Minister is also not liable to consider the decision if to be exercised or not under the circumstances he is requested to do so. The decision taken my Minister under such circumstances cannot be reviewed which had been initiated under sub section (2) or (3) under the application of Part 5 or 7[9]. Section 501B of Migration Act 1958 of Australia This rule depict that if the Minister or his designated authority has taken any decision to cancel the existing visa or refuse to renew the existing visa u/s 501B section (1) or (2), the same can not be set aside. The criterion of this decision is mainly emphasizing on the passing of character test which Billy will fail. The rule confers the power to the Minister relating to the decision to be exercised on the specific ground of failing character test. Even the Minister has the power to neglect the original decision or any subsequent appeal against this order[10]. All these sections confer the power of discretion on the Minister of natural justice. Section 501, 501A and 501B are instrumental to give the power to Minister for cancelling the existing visa or refusal of renewal of visa to the person, who fails to qualify for the character test. In case of Billy, although he is staying in Australia for more than 10 years, but his recent activities will go against him as those are resulting to imprisonment for five years. Hence the probability of cancellation of existing special type of visa or refusal towards renewing the visa is there from the department of Minister for Billy. As the entire discretionary power is lying with the Minister, no such scope of appealing will stand; except with one option of appeal of pardon for first time happening of this type of offence by him. Retrieval of cancelled visa through appeal So far the case of Billy, if his visa will get cancelled by the Minister, he will not be able to retrieve that through any appeal and had to accept the deportation from Australia which is bit tough for him. The scope of getting pardoned through appeal may not be materialistic, as the crimes done by him are of serious nature and make him failed to pass the character test. Character test is depicted in section 501 subsection c paragraph 6 where he had miserably disqualified due to the committing of sexual molestation of child for long six years. The vague explanation of marrying the child had no effect and the Judge of the court had sent him to the prison for five years. This will go against him, and in case the Minister will initiate the steps for cancellation of visa, he will have no option but to return back to his home land of New Zealand. Bibliography: Aph, 2014. section 501, 501A and 501B of the Migration Act 1958. [Online] Available at: www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=e972b77d-5cae-4e25-a27d [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Austlii, 1997. Migration Regulations 1994 - Reg 1.03. [Online] Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mr1994227/s1.03.html [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Austlii, 2001. Migration Act 1958 - Sect 201. [Online] Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s201.html [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Austlii, 2015. Migration act 1958 - Sect 501. [Online] Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s501.html [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Austlii, 2015. Migration Act 1958 - Sect 501H. [Online] Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s501h.html [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Border, 2016. Special Category visa (subclass 444). [Online] Available at: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/444- [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Coombs, M., 2015. Section 501 of Migration Act 1958 of Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1415a/15bd053 [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Grewcock, M., 2011. Punishment, deportation and parole: The detention and removal of former prisoners under section 501 Migration Act 1958. [Online] Available at: https://anj.sagepub.com/content/44/1/56.abstract [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Legislation, 2016. Migration Act 1958. [Online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A07412 [Accessed 26 October 2016]. Loc, 2015. Guest Worker Programs: Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guestworker/australia.php [Accessed 26 October 2016].

The Norman Conquest free essay sample

The Norman conquest of England was a military invasion of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. King Harold, with his Saxon army, and Duke William fought at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. King Harold was killed in the battle and his army left. On December 25 1066 William was crowned the new King of England. On December 25 1066 William was crowned the new King of England( The History of the Norman Conquest). We will write a custom essay sample on The Norman Conquest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page William was a Duke who ruled Normandy, now a region in France. He invaded England after the death of King Edward the Confessor because he believed he had the most right to be King of England. Due to the invasion of England, The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history. It largely removed the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy, and clerical hierarchy. This, in turn, brought about a transformation of the English language and the culture of England in a new era often referred to as Norman England(The History of the Norman Conquest). William decided to invade England and enforce his claim by his and only his direct orders. After gathering an army of some valiant sized men, he landed at Penvensey, England in September of 1066. The rebut over the conquest started almost as soon as the event itself. Ironically, William the conqueror was also the Duke of Normandy in France. So this put William in an awkward position of ruling one country while still serving as a vassal of another country ruler. By bringing England under the control of rulers originating in France, the Norman conquest linked the country more closely with continental Europe, lessened Scandinavian influence, and also set the stage for a rivalry with France that would continue intermittently for many centuries. It also had important consequences for the rest of the British Isles, paving the way for further Norman conquests in Wales and Ireland, and the extensive penetration of the aristocracy of Scotland by Norman and other French-speaking families, with the accompanying spread of continental institutions and cultural influences. Once England had been conquered, the Normans faced many challenges in maintaining control. The Normans were few in number compared to the native English population. Historians estimate the number of Norman settlers at around 8,000, but Norman in this instance includes not just natives of Normandy, but settlers from other parts of France. One consequence of the invasion was that Williams followers expected and received lands and titles in return for their service in the invasion. However, William claimed ultimate possession of virtually all the land in England over which his armies had given him de facto control, and asserted the right to dispose of it as he saw fit. Henceforth, all land was held from the King. The distribution of land was normally in a piecemeal fashion spread out over the entire kingdom, rather than in contiguous blocks. A Norman lord typically had properties located all throughout England and Normandy, and not in a single geographic block. To find the lands to compensate his Norman followers, William initially confiscated the lands of all the English lords who had fought and died with Harold and redistributed part of these lands. These confiscations led to revolts, which resulted in more confiscations, in a cycle that continued virtually unbroken for five years after the Battle of Hastings. To put down and prevent further rebellions the Normans constructed castles and fortifications in unprecedented numbers, initially mostly on the motte-and-bailey pattern. Historian Robert Liddiard remarks that to glance at the urban landscape of Norwich, Durham or Lincoln is to be forcibly reminded of the impact of the Norman invasion(The Norman Conquest). William and his barons also exercised tighter control over inheritance of property by widows and daughters, often forcing marriages to Normans. A measure of Williams success in taking control is that, from 1072 until the Captain conquest of Normandy in 1204, William and his successors were largely absentee rulers. For example, after 1072, William spent more than 75% of his time in France rather than in England. While he needed to be personally present in Normandy to defend the realm from foreign invasion and put down internal revolts, he set up royal administrative structures that enabled him to rule England from a distance. Following the conquest, large numbers of Anglo-Saxons, including groups of nobles, fled the country. Many fled to Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia. Members of King Harold Godwinsons family sought refuge in Ireland and used those bases for unsuccessful invasions of England. The largest single exodus occurred in the 1070s when a group of Anglo-Saxons in a fleet of 235 ships sailed for the Byzantine Empire. The empire became a popular destination for many English nobles and soldiers as it would have been known that the Byzantines were in need of mercenaries. The English became the predominant element in the elite Varangian Guard, hitherto a largely Scandinavian unit, from which the emperors bodyguard was drawn. Some of the English migrants were settled in Byzantine frontier regions on the Black Sea coast and established towns with names such as New London and New York(The Norman Conquest) The impact of the conquest on the lower levels of English society is difficult to assess. The major change was the elimination of slavery in England, which had disappeared by the middle of the 12th century (The History of the Norman Conquest). There were about 28,000 of them listed in Domesday Book in 1086, less than had been enumerated for 1066. In some places, such as Essex, the decline in slaves was as much as 20% for the 20 years. The main reasons for the decline in slaveholding appear to have been the disapproval of the Church and the cost of supporting slaves, which unlike serfs, had to be supported entirely by their owners. But the practice of slavery was never outlawed, and the Leges Henrici Primi from the reign of King Henry I continued to withstand slaveholding as legal. Many of the free slaves of Anglo-Saxon society appear to have lost status and become indistinguishable from the non-free serfs. Whether this change was due entirely to the conquest is unclear, but the invasion and its after effects likely accelerated a process already underway. Likewise, the spread of towns and increase in nucleated settlements in the countryside, rather than scattered farms, was likely accelerated by the coming of the Normans to England. But the lifestyle of the peasantry probably did not greatly change in the decades after 1066(United Kingdom). Debate over the conquest started almost as soon as the event itself. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, when discussing the death of William the Conqueror, denounced him and the conquest in verse form, but the kings obituary notice from William of Poitiers, a Frenchman, was laudatory and full of praise. Historians since then have argued over the facts of the matter and how to interpret them, with little agreement occurring throughout history. Modern historians in the 20th and 21st centuries have focused less on the rightness or wrongness of the conquest itself instead concentrating on the actual effects of the invasion. Some historians, such as Richard Southern, have seen the conquest as a critical turning point in history. Southern, himself stated that no country in Europe, between the rise of the barbarian kingdoms and the 20th century, has undergone so radical a change in so short a time as England experienced after 1066 (The History of the Norman Conquest). The debate over the impact of the conquest depends on what metrics are used to measure change after 1066. If Anglo-Saxon England was already changing before the invasion, with the introduction of feudalism or castles or the changes in society, then the conquest was important but not a radical change. But, if change is measured by the elimination of the English nobility or the loss of Old English as a literary language, then the change was radical and driven by the invasion.  Nationalistic arguments have been made on both sides of the debate, with the Normans cast as either the persecutors of the English or the rescuers of the country from a decadent Anglo-Saxon nobility.