Incarceration Essay Example for Free

Incarceration Essay There has been a lot of discussion regarding the prison population in the United States but little efforts have been engaged in regard to the transformations observed in the composition of the jail population. The law enforcement agents are under obligation by the federal, state, and local authorities to arrest and confine individuals who are criminal suspects. It is the duty of our judicial system to imprison individuals who are crime convicts. The confinement that is imposed on individuals whether prior to or after conviction is what is referred to as incarceration. Any person irrespective of race, color, sex, and age is subject to incarceration at least in theory according to the constitution. Studies have however continued to show increasing imbalance in our penal institutions as more African Americans and Hispanics continue to account to a slightly larger percentage in comparison to the whites. This paper shall present an analysis of the structural inequality as observed in the judicial system within the United States. Structural Inequality: Structural inequality is something that is affecting virtually all societies around the world. This phenomenon however does not stem from the variations amongst individuals as generally thought, but it can be attributed to the meanings and values that individuals hold in regard to these variations. These values and meanings become systemized and thus the foundation of inequality in our society. The society becomes stratified based on differences between the individuals. This leads to a hierarchical society where prejudicial values and attitudes are developed which affects the views held by the different categories of individuals (Bartels-Ellis, 2010). The US is among the world’s most leading jailers with a rating of 750 imprisonments in every 100,000 individuals (Williams, 2009). The prison population is however disproportional with African Americans and the Hispanics and other minority groups accounting for a larger percentage compared to the majority whites. It is estimated that over 60% of the prison population is from the minority groups. The imbalance in the incarcerated population has been attributed to the war against drugs that has gained momentum in the recent past. This has had a toll on the minority groups though studies have continued to indicate that drug use is also a significant phenomenon amongst the whites. The judicial system has therefore been accused of racist discrimination when it comes to matters of fair and effective judgment (Williams, 2009). Racial Bias in the Judicial System: Racial inequalities have been observed when it comes to judicial matters in the United States. There are great variations in the incarceration of different racial groups that make up the population of the US (Martel, 2008). Studies have continued to reveal the unending trend of disparities in the criminal justice system as revealed by the United States Census Bureau in 2000. According to the Bureau, there is un-proportional representation in the incarceration within the US penal institutions which happens to favor the whites. As of the year 2000, out of close to 2 million adult prisoners, 63% were from the minority groups including the African Americans and Latinos. Such disparities are in contravention of the general population as it has been established that the minority groups account for only 25% of the general population (Human Rights Watch, 2002). Statistics: According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), in every twenty blacks aged over 18, one is likely to be in prison whereas for the whites, the imprisonment rate is put at one in every 180 individuals. The African Americans and the Hispanics comprise of about 2/3 of the prison population. As of the year 2001, African American males and Hispanic males had a higher chance of being imprisoned compared to the whites. The blacks had a 32. 2% chance; Hispanics 17. 2% chance; whereas the whites had a 6% chance. In the year 2003, African American prisoners accounted for a larger portion of those serving a term of more than one year at 44% of the prison population followed by the whites at 35% whereas the Hispanics accounted for the remaining 19% (Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation, 2010).

Terrorism †Wake Up America! :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Terrorism – Wake Up America! America, wake up! That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then. It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years. America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized / right sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission doomed from the start. Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more. Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more. Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber. The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

A Strategy To Align Organization And Environment Essay

This paper analyzes the term ‘strategic fit’ exactly means, types of strategic fit, necessities to focus on strategic fit, and most importantly how well an organization can align its resources & capabilities with the opportunities that exist in the external environment so as to achieve peak performance in the business. Strategy of Nestle as an example to discuss how far it is true that effective strategic fit ensures organization’s resources & capabilities and what the environment exactly needs from it. Key Words Strategic, Fit, Strategy, Resource, Capabilities, Opportunities, Environment, Business Introduction It should be recognized that any strategy or management style is appropriate only in a particular set of circumstances. Strategic fit enables an organization to operate in its particular competitive situation at peak effectiveness. It expresses the degree to which an organization is matching its resources and capabilities with the opportunities in the external environment. The matching takes place through strategy and it is therefore vital that the company have the actual resources and capabilities to execute and support the strategy. Meaning of Strategic Fit The contingency theorist’s argument that performance outcomes are maximized when a firm achieves an alignment or â€Å"fit† between a firm’s external environment, its internal factors and its strategy has been well established in the literature (Burns & Stalker 1967; Lawrence & Lorsch 1967; Keats & Hitt, 1988). Nadler and Tushman (1979) theorized that the greater the total degree of congruence or fit between the various components, the more effective will be the organization, leading to higher levels of goal attainment, utilization of resources, and adaptation. Need for Strategic Fit Strategic fit is a quest to align the organization’s operation with the needs of the market. It also involves identification of the opportunities and the action to capitalize on the opportunities. Strategic fit can be used actively to evaluate the current strategic situation of a company as well as opportunities such as M&A and divestitures of organizational divisions. Strategic fit is related to the Resource-based view of the firm which suggests that the key to profitability is not only through positioning and industry selection but rather through an internal focus which seeks to utilize the unique characteristics of the company’s portfolio of resources and capabilities. Resources s Capabilities A unique combination of resources and capabilities can eventually be developed into a competitive advantage which the company can profit from. However, it is important to differentiate between resources and capabilities. Resources relate to the inputs to production owned by the company, whereas capabilities describe the accumulation of learning the company possesses. Types of Resources Resources can be classified as tangible resources and intangible resources. Tangible Resources The term tangible means capable of being touched, real or actual, rather than imaginary or visionary, definite; not vague or elusive, having actual physical existence, as real estate or chattels, and therefore capable of being assigned a value in monetary terms. Financial (Cash, securities) †¢ Physical (Location, plant, machinery) are some of the tangible resources Intangible Resources Resources that are not physical in nature are said to be Intangible resources. Corporate intellectual property (items such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, business methodologies), goodwill and brand recognition are all common intangible resources in business point of view. An intangible resource can be classified as either indefinite o r definite depending on the specifics of that resource. A company brand name is considered to be an indefinite resource, as it stays with the company as long as the company continues operations. However, if a company enters a legal agreement to operate under another company’s patent, with no plans of extending the agreement, it would have a limited life and would be classified as a definite resource. †¢ Technology (Patents, copyrights) †¢ Human resources †¢ Reputation (Brands) †¢ Culture, are some of the intangible resources. Capabilities Capabilities are what a firm does, and represents the firm’s capacity to deploy resources that have been purposely integrated to achieve the desired end state. Capabilities become important when they are combined in unique combinations which create core competencies which have strategic value and can lead to competitive advantage. Capabilities needed for strategic fit are 1. Coordination 2. Commitment 3. Competence (technology, management and leadership) 4. Communication 5. Creativity 6. Capacity management (allocation of resources) Benefits of Strategic Fit The extent to which the activities of a single organization or of organizations working in partnership complement each other in such a way as to contribute to competitive advantage. The benefits of good strategic fit include cost reduction, due to economies of scale, and the transfer of knowledge and skills (technological expertise, managerial know how), use of common brand name. The success of a merger, joint venture, or strategic alliance may be affected by the degree of strategic fit between the organizations involved. Similarly, the strategic fit of one organization with another is often a factor in decisions about acquisitions, mergers, diversification, or divestment. Types of Strategic Fit 1. Market related fit 2. Operating fit 3. Management fit Market Related Fit Market related fit arises when value chains of different businesses overlap so that the products can be used by same customers, marketed and promoted in similar ways, distributed through common dealers and retailers.

Kerouac Quotes - 1254 Words

Kerouac Quotes: 1. â€Å"A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world.† This relates back to modern day teenage dating, which goes like â€Å"I love her so much† to â€Å"I never want to see her again.† It also shows that true love at first sight is a joke sometimes. This also shows that women are not the answer to true happiness in life. 2. â€Å"The best teacher is experience and not through someone s distorted point of view.† I love this quote because it shows that a good coach or mentor teaches someone by life experience. Also, sometimes mentors don t give us the right information to something because it is usually based on their perception. Sometimes people telling their†¦show more content†¦So the suitcases can represent all the struggles we have in life and if we cant stop because life or time does not stop until you depart from this world. 6. â€Å"But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you re alive to see?† This is an amazing quote because it telling us that the future has something in store for us. For example, we work hard now then we rest later. It shows that all the struggles we go through in life will soon pay off. 7. â€Å"We felt silly and didn’t know what to say, and I for one didn’t want to get hung-up with a carnival. I was in such a bloody hurry to get to the gang in Denver.† Sal expresses his traveling time and how he felt about his friend. So is he trying to say that Dean isn t the smartest person around. And why is he in a rush, especially when his friend trying to enjoy himself. 8. â€Å"I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.† This shows that life passes by really quick. And the choices you make determine the rest. Which sucks because you cant go back and fix it. 9. â€Å"I just won t sleep, I decided. There were so many other interesting things to do.† Life is full of amazing opportunities so don t waste your time. Thats what I think he was trying to show, and theirs always time to find something you like doing. He trying to show this by saying sleep is a waste of time.Show MoreRelatedThe Beat Generation Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pagesnauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death. (Kerouac, Jack. â€Å"On the road.†). This quote, from Jack Kerouac’s book On the Road, is a brilliant example of the overall feel of the Beat Generation. Jack Kerouac is one of the most influential writers of the Beat Generation, rivaled only by the likes of Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burrough. But what exactly is the Beat GenerationRead MoreRomanticism and Modernism as Strange Bedfellows: A Fresh Look at Jack Kerouacs On the Road12240 Words   |  49 Pagesdifferent from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening striding to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust. The Waste Land—T. S. Eliot On 2 April 1951, in a loft in New York City, Jack Kerouac fed 120 feet of Japanese drawing paper into his typewriter, and for the next 20 days or so, began typing up his â€Å"road† notes from a series of notebooks that documented his travels across the United States and Mexico. These notes were compiled andRead More Beats as a counterculture Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesThe Beats As A Counterculture Many of the Beat writers wrote in a style known as spontaneous prose. Allen Ginsberg often writes in this style. He does so in the poem â€Å"Howl† in which he rants and raves about society via his friends – Jack Kerouac, Willaim S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlingetti, and Neil Cassidy to name a few, live. He discusses their poverty, civil disobedience, the ways that they fight society, and his personal fight against industrialization; he uses many images in order to allowRead MoreThe Beat Generation By Allen Ginsberg1124 Words   |  5 PagesGeneration where Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs. And although their bold, expressive poetry led to great fame, this generation of poets gained a new fan base of critics who thought their work was just a way to seek attention and was not seen as serious art. Allen Ginsberg, born 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, unknowingly found himself creating a new generation of people when he was attending Columbia University and met Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. There they exchangedRead More The Dharma Bums Aesthetic Response Essay1374 Words   |  6 Pagesjourneys of Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder would continue on infinitely, but also having the feeling of contentment that the novels ending was exactly the way in which it should have ended. I believe that this novel may have been written for me, though. Kerouac specifically outlined the life that I had been thinking about and justified it by saying that a lifestyle such as a dharma bum needs no justification except its pureness and simplicity: of which Lao-Tzu would be proud. Upon first reading, I clearlyRead MoreEssay on Beat Movement In Relation To On The Road1930 Words   |  8 Pagesattempt to influence and enlighten other people through their writings and music, but their ideas had to come from somewhere, and this was where their greatest problem came from. Members of the Beat Movement continually abused both drugs and alcohol; Kerouac shows this through the events of On The Road. One of the main characteristics of the BeatRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Howl 1406 Words   |  6 Pages(Ginsberg). Immediately, Ginsberg sets a stage of explaining how people were destroyed by madness of being rejected because of the way they thought of things differently from society; calling those people ‘’ best minds’’. He also mentions on the quote ‘’ negro streets’’ representing the slum where the ‘’best minds’’ lived and were carried out by the ‘’angry fix’’ of drugs and alcohol, which would be their go-to for pain of rejection. Most of Ginsberg’s writing is expressed with a lot of homosexualityRead MoreAnalysis of Ginsbergs Howl Essay2804 Words   |  12 Pagesexperienced by Ginsberg could be looked at as a case of having his work critiqued by the wrong sort of audience. There was a clear demographic of people who have since been labeled as the beat generati on, a term coined to describe authors like Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs in addition to Ginsberg himself. Ginsbergs publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, predicted early on that there would be a public backlash to the release of Howl. Hoping to avoid it, he send the first manuscripts to England for publicationRead More Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The Spiritual Quest, the Search for Self and Identity1312 Words   |  6 Pageswhat is and what is not important in life. While driving back to Testament in the 49 Hudson, Dean propositions Sal through an appeal to emotion. In passing on his philosophy, Dean eloquently states, Everything is fine, God exists, we know time (Kerouac 120). After the war, America achieved the status of economic success through the provisions of the assembly line in industries and manual labor in civil services. The 1950s became an evolution from skilled craftsmanship to mindless mechanicalRead MoreThe Hippie Movement and the Beat Movemnt1704 Words   |  7 PagesHow the Hippies got hip with the beat of the Beat Movement Jack Kerouac once said, â€Å"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars† (Kerouac 5). Kerouac was the symbol of the Beat Movement. He was the rebellious and adventurous man, who during his time was