Analysing The Political System In Ukraine Politics Essay

Analysing The Political System In Ukraine Politics Essay Before mentioning about the presidents and presidential elections, the political system of the Ukraine is important to analyze its political transition. With its independence, Ukraine had some difficult task which would be solved in short time. A new political system had to be built. New system of national security and defense had to be created. With its Constitution, the general foundations of the political system are defined. Ukraine is an independent, sovereign, democratic and social and jural state in accordance with its organic law. The state power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches. According to Constitution, the main responsibility of the state is to establish and promote human rights and freedoms. Ukraine is a unitary state, in which its territory is integral and inviolable. The state has a single citizenship. (http://www.ukraine-arabia.ae/ukraine/politics/president/) As we look into the President of the Ukraine, this post is designated to be Head of State and a guarantor of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and adherence to the Constitution. President is elected by the citizens of the state on the basis of direct universal suffrage. The term of presidential office is five years. In order to be elected as President there are obligations. One of them is living in Ukraine for ten years before the elections, the other is being citizens.(http://www.ukraine-arabia.ae/ukraine/politics/president/) The only legislative body of Ukraine is the Parliament which is called the Verkhovna Rada. Citizens elect the deputies of Ukraine via direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The parliamentary election system is mixed with majority and proportional. 450 deputies are elected 225 of them are elected at single-mandate constituencies in terms of relative majority, and another 225 are elected proportionally at multi-mandate national constituency from the list of candidates who comes from the political parties. Constitution and laws of Ukraine establish the powers of the peoples deputies. They can unite themselves into factions with more than 25 members. These deputy groups are formed on a party and non-party basis. Then, the Cabinet of Ministers which is the supreme executive authority of Ukraine comes. Presidential orders, laws of Ukraine and the Constitution are the legal basis for its actions. The Government is responsible to the President and it is controlled by the Verkhovna Rada. This dependency leads to presidential appointment of a Prime minister with parliamentary consent. Prime Ministers authorities may be suspended and discharged by the President. Furthermore, Members of Cabinet of Ministers are discharged and appointed by President. When we look at the judicial authority system, there are Constitutional Court and Courts of General Jurisdiction. Furthermore, the supreme authority in judiciary is Supreme Court of Ukraine. The system of courts of general jurisdiction is based on the principles of territorial and special jurisdiction. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a separate entity and is independent from the Courts of General Jurisdiction. The activities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine promote constitutional control in all spheres, stabilization and strengthening of constitutional order, the establishment of principle of primacy of law and the supreme legal force of the Constitution, and the promotion of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. Ukrainians had to take a program of state and nation building simultaneously. In the process of state building, Ukrainian policy was shaped with the  desire  to  guarantee its  independence. It can be said that Ukrainian independence was accompanied with the qualifications of quasi-state and quasi-nation as a part of the Soviet heritage. Policy of Ukraine since 1991- 1992 until the 2004- 2005 was based on the process of state and nation building. Because of locked within the Soviet borders, Ukraine has isolated from the other world. All the interactions with the entire world were conducted by Moscow, that is the reason why Ukrainian authorities had no experience in cooperation with other states and independent administration of the state. (http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/3/6/1/1/8/pages361183/p361183-20.php) E.2.Presidents of Ukraine While examining the political transition of the Ukraine, it is also necessary to deal with the presidents and elections. After the independence from Soviet in 1991, in Ukraine there held 5 presidential elections in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2004 and 2010, five parliamentary elections in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2007. The Ukrainian Constitution which was adopted in 1996 and was amended in 2004, stipulates a de-facto dual executive that is dependent on both the president and the parliamentary majority. (Oleksandr Sushko and Olena Prystayko) There held the first presidential election on 1st December 1991. Leonid Kravchuk won the elections with the 61,59 percent of the votes in the first round and became the state President. He showed a degree of political continuity from the Soviet period. He failed in understanding the need for economic reform. Consequently, because of not implementing the reforms in which power was divided between the communists and the opposition, the result became a hybrid regime. (Karpyk, Tamila,8) As it was stated before, the first years of independence was dealing with nation  building  and  political  survival.  The appearance and activities of Rukh (the Peoples Movement of Ukraine) which is a new Democratic Party was important for preservation of national identity among the masses. Vyacheslav  Chornovil  was the leader of the Democratic Party and he had significant characteristics on the spirit of nationalism in Ukraine. In these circumstances, changing into a nation-builder and being a mediator between the nationalist West and the Russified Eastern part of the country was not difficult for the first President Leonid Kravchuk who was former Second Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine. However, it was not an easy task. Before his office term ended, he had to call an early election because of the strike of the coal miners on 7th July 1993. (http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=72956cat_id=32588) With the decision of referendum, the early election was held on 26th June1994. Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma were among the candidates of this election. In the first round, none of the candidates gained over 50 percent. Leonid Kravchuk got 38,36 percent and Leonid Kuchma got 31,17 percent of the votes. In the second round which was held on 10th July 1994, while the current head of the state received the 45,06, Leonid Kuchma was elected as Ukranian second Head of State with the 52,15 percent. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1898.html) It was surprise for Leonid Kravchuk to lose to Leonid Kuchma in the early elections. Leonid Kuchma was the former manager of Ukraines biggest armaments factory. On coming to power, Kuchma devolved greater power to the regions to decide linguistic and national questions. In his election campaign, anti-nationalist sentiment was aired by the Kuchma. (Kuzio, 214) However, this more liberal policy has squarely contradicted his desire for national consolidation and thwarted attempts to make policy implementation by the center in the periphery more efficient and effective. His first year in power led to financial stabilization. However, he could not continue the reform process and that led to small group in power becoming richer and the majority of the people had to find another means for survival. In 1999, during the Office term of Kuchma, The Committee to Protect Journalists stated Ukraine for its restrictions over independent media. The image of Ukraine was influenced in negative way bec ause of disappearance of opposition journalist. (Karpyk, Tamila,20) Kuchma has intimate relations with Putin. His administration can be seen as soft authoritarianism. Corruption, suppression of the media and weakening of the civil society were activities during the period of Leonid Kuchma. He aspired to construct a system of managed democracy which is formal democratic practices but informal control of all political institutions similar to Putins model of government in Russia but he never had such kind of success. Ukraines three largest oligarchic group did back Kuchma and wielded their media and financial resources. (McFaul,50-51) However, Kuchma did not control the rents generated from oil and gas sales that could have been used to purchase the loyalty of societal challengers. Kuchmas regime did not control or own major segments of the Ukrainian economy. The third election was held on 31st October 1999, Leonid Kuchma also took part in this election. There were 13 candidates but none of them got the majority of the votes. Ukrainian Communist Party leader Petro Simonenko and Leonid Kuchma competed in the second round. The former President was re-elected for a second term by taking 56,25 percent of the votes. In 2000, Viktor Yuschenko became Prime Minister of Kuchma. In economic domain, the citizens became hopeful with this change. Especially encouraging privatization, comprehensive reform programs and attempts for prevention of corruption enabled Yuschenko to have support from Ukrainians. As a consequence, he automatically became opponent to Kuchma and he was dismissed from his post. In 2000, a former socialist and oligarch leader released a video record which contains Leonid Kuchmas illegal orders. With this event, a scandal broke out and it brought a different approach to Ukrainian politics. In the parliamentary elections, Yuschenkos bloc got 112 chairs. However Kuchmas party got 104 chairs and it became sign for the upcoming elections for President. (SarÄ ±kaya, p.3) Kuchma has tried to squelch opposition voices. However, his jailing of former Energy Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, his dismissal of Prime Minister Yuschenko and his apparent collusion in the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze further weakened the state and created more opposition. (McFaul, p.54) As a final impression on Kuchmas term, he did not aspire to construct full blown autocracy. He was prepared to transgress democratic rules to prevent the opposition from coming to power and he also wanted to maintain the appearance of democracy. The fourth Presidential elections were really struggling and it led to the Orange Revolution which will be explained in the following section. The election held on 31st October 2004 had 26 candidates. Two of the candidates were Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych backed by Russia and former Prime Minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko supported by the West. The first round was really competitive and in the second round the percentage of the votes of Yanukovych and Yushchenko were close to each other. With the announcement of the international electoral watchdogs about defraud on the elections resulted in the mass demonstrations of the population. Ukrainian High Court explained that the results were not valid. As the new election was held, Yushchenko instead of Yanukovych got the Presidency with the help of the Orange Revolution. Although Yanukovych did not win the election, it was seen that his and Russias political influence power in Ukraine was very strong. (http://www.turks am.org/tr/a1898.html) When Yushchenko first came to power, Ukraines Orange government seemed like it could meet the popular demands for radical political reform and immediate integration into Europe. Yushchenko and his Prime Minister Tymoshenko showed their incompatibility while working. They criticized each other openly. The Ukrainian political system became more dysfunctional. (Motyl, Alexander, 4) There is also an important and positive improvement. During Yuschchenkos term Ukraine was upgraded to FREE from Partly Free by Freedom House. He failed to understand the need to deal with Ukraines past or how to integrate Ukraine and follow through on pursuing criminal charges against the elites who had murdered journalists, abused their positions of power through massive corruption and theft of state property, and organized mass election fraud. (Kuzio, 217) On the other hand, he actively favored his ethnic Ukrainian base by promoting the Ukrainian language, culture, and identity in schools, government, and the media. With these actions, he alienated many of the ethnic Russians and Russian speaking Ukrainians in the countrys east and south. (Motyl, Alexander, 3) On 17 January 2010, 18 candidates competed in the elections. Current President Yushchenko was also one of the participants. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1898.html) In February 2010, Viktor Yanukovych made a remarkable political comeback. It was surprising that Orange Revolution was conducted against Yanukovychs Presidency and now the Ukrainians elected him voluntarily. The economic conditions of Ukraine could be explanation for this situation. In 2009, the countrys GDP fell by 15 percent. People were frustrated and they were willing to support anyone who could fix the economic conditions. And Tymoshenko was seen as guilty and Yanukovych became the winner.At the start of his presidency, Yanukovych laid out his foreign policy priorities: restoring Ukraines close ties with Russia, European integration and building relationships with strategic partners such as the United States. By playing to these priorities and, at the same time, pursuing their own interests in the region, Russia, the European Union, and the United States can help stabilize the Yanukovych presidency and Ukraine.(Motyl,Alexander, 2) Yanukovych claimed that he learned from his mist akes in the past. However, he had already done some mistakes. He redefined democracy as political order. He does not advocate Ukrainian heritage contrary to his opponent Yushchenko. He appointed Dmytro Tabachnyk for Ministery of Education and Science. He was not a good choice because he openly declares his anti-Ukrainian views. He also claims that ethnic Ukrainians in the west of Ukraine are too Westernized to be genuine Ukrainians. His assault on the Ukrainian identity resulted in demonstrations and protests which were directed at Yanukovych and his minister. (Motyl,Alexander, 4) As a result of Yanukovychs centralized and anti-Ukrainian regime, Ukraine does not reach national consensus on the political and economic direction of country. He is not expected to be authoritarian because of not having strong coercive apparatus as Putin but his regime is seen as return to Kuchmism. There created strong opposition to him and Ukraines first President Kravchuk is among them. He criticized lawlessness, permissiveness, use of force and corruption which are done by the team of Yanukovych. It is believed that if he continues to act like this, he can provoke a second Orange Revolution. Lacking the ability, capacity, and will to change the system, Yanukovych will probably try to enhance his regimes legitimacy. However, its Party of Region is not supported by population in Kiev and no reform is expected during his term because of gathering Kuchmas incompetent ministers in his team. Furthermore, the lower natural gas price that Yanukovych negotiated with Russia will bring imm ediate benefits to the oligarchs. Lower gas prices will allow them to keep the costs of their products low and globally competitive without forcing them to modernize or become more efficient. Even if the people welcomes lower gas prices at first Yanukovychs regime is expected to be more corrupt. (Kuzio, 214) After evaluating Presidents of Ukraine, the citizens ideas on democracy are worthy to examine. According to survey which is conducted in 2010, the preference for democracy is highest in Western Ukraine, while apathy toward the type of governing system is highest in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. More Ukrainians do not view Ukraine as a democracy than those who do. Only 25 percent of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine is a democracy compared to 41 percent who do not believe it is a democracy . E.3. The Orange Revolution From over two decades, Ukraine has been facing with a most difficult transition from its authoritarian past. On the way to democratization, it has experienced economic collapse, over lasting constitution making period, border disputes with its neighbors, severe discontinuities and a revolution.(Bohdan Harasymiw, 2002) The fall 2004 presidential election was one of the pivotal movements in the history of Ukraine. The current president Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych who was chosen successor of Kuchma deployed state resources, national media, and private funding from both Ukrainians and Russians to win against Viktor Yushchenko. When this effort was not enough, the government of Kuchma added votes in the second round for Yanukovych. As a response, Yushchenko called his supporters to come to Independence Square. The reason for this call is to protest this fraud in the election. Thousands of people came together in Kiev and stayed there until Supreme Court decided to cancel the second round results. (McFaul, 49) As we evaluate the Orange Revolution, it is understood that domestic factors accounted for most of the drama of this event.but external factors played direct role in constraining some dimensions of autocratic power. It also enhanced some dimensions of the oppositions power. However, Ukrainian democracy did not consolidate after the Revolution. Even if the Ukrainian democracy go back towards autocracy over the long run, this dramatic event is still seen as a democratic breakthrough in this decade.(McFaul, 48) With the Orange Revolution, it was seen that in Ukraine there is a struggle for between a semi-autocratic regime and a democratic opposition. Although there were improvements towards liberal democracy but not guaranteed. Institutional changes remain modest. 5 years after this movement, election of Yanukovych can be surprising and made the Orange Revolution waste of time. It has just postponed his Presidency. F.3.Ukraine-Turkey Relations: Turkey and Ukraine are neighbors on the Black Sea. When we look at the general situation between these two countries it can be said that it is good but not sufficient compared to their current potential. Especially in the issue of security in Black Sea, Ukraine has great importance for Turkey. Furthermore, its location on the energy lines, being one of the significant Black Sea countries, the historical ties with Crimea region and nearly 265000 Crimean Turks living in Crimea makes their relations substantial and sensitive. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa) As it is all known Ukraine has importance on the international relations with its strategic position. Ukraine sees Turkey as a key country for exit for Middle East and Mediterranean Sea. Ukraines foreign policy in its South axis aims to improve relations with Turkey. For Turkey, Ukraine is a buffer zone in order to prevent Russians to reach Black Sea. Turkey also attaches importance to Ukraine in terms of the stability of the region and strives to further develop its bilateral relations with Ukraine in every field especially economic and trade. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1512.html) Turkey is one of the first countries which recognized the Ukrainian Independence. Because of the discontinuity of the political relations, economic and the trade relations moved ahead of them. The Protocol on the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Ukraine was signed on February 3, 1992. The legal framework which regulates the relations and cooperation between these two countries is almost complete after the signing of several agreements and protocols in political, military, economic, cultural, educational and intelligence related fields. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa) In 1994, Trade Economic Cooperation Agreement entered into force. There has been no serious political problem and there is an increase on the economic dynamic. There is an unbalanced situation of trade. Although Turkey imports more, its exports to Ukraine remains very low. 70 percent of Ukraines exports to Turkey is composed of iron, steel and the other mine products. There has been an increase of the Turkeys exportations on coal, organic and inorganic chemical substances, wood, aluminum, paper, plaster, stone and cement from 2007.  Turkeys investment in Ukraine is towards 135 million US dollars. There are over 500 enterprises. Another part of the relationship between these two countries is composed of Black Sea Economic Cooperation which both are the members. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa)    Moreover, Turkey and Ukraine support each other in international organizations such as UN, CoE, and OSCE. Military relations are conducted both on bilate ral basis and within the framework of NATO-Ukraine Commission, BLACKSEAFOR and Operation Black Sea Harmony.(http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkey_s-political-relations-with-ukraine.en.mfa) In 2003, Turkey declared Ukraine as privileged State status so Ukraine became privileged in Turkeys foreign policy. There have been several negotiations of the Foreign and Prime Ministers of both countries. In January 2007, Prime Minister Yanukovich visited Turkey and Operation Black Sea Harmony was signed. G.Conclusion In conclusion, after evaluating the Ukraines triple transition period, we have reached some important points. Although there have been some attempts to fully implement democracy, there are some obstacles. At first glance, the problems seem to be resulted from its communist past and Russian influence. Ukraine does not fully integrate as Ukrainian society. The problematic national transition of Ukraine can be traced back to this period. Seperatist minority groups, ethnic Russians and Crimean Tatars, keep Ukraine deal with its internal problems rather than economic ones. Economic crises which resulted from the price of gas fluctuations led to frustration within the country. Another obstacle that Ukraine faces with is its dependency on Russia in terms of energy. If it does not overcome this struggle, it seems to restrict Ukraines regional power. However, explaining Ukrainian internal conflicts only with the Russia based reasons would be wrong. Russia is extremely influential factor but we should not underestimate the other factors. In Ukraine, there are not only two cleavages that split the country. Ukrainians are divided also among themselves. It is clear that Ukrainian part and Russified part in Ukraine exist and surprisingly there was no civil war because there is no clear distinction between these counterparts. One of the most important sign for democracy is civil society and in Ukraine it can be seen as the strongest among the other Post-Communist states though it is not in Western standards. This led to the Orange Revolution that increased the political competition however; it could not succeed in long term reforms. Political instabilities and crisis environment became continuous in which Yanukovychs pro-Russian attitudes and Yushchenkos Ukrainian nationalism competed. Besides Ukrainian society chose best of the worst option because of the high level of corruption. As a matter of fact that in the first place Ukraine should focus on the problem of high level of corruption as the society expected to do so. The reason hidden behind societys choice for Yanukovych is his claims on economic solutions rather than his political views. After all, the analytical outcomes show that Ukraine does not fully achieve a consolidated democracy. Although civil society and independent media paint a promising Picture, it has more things to do in order to reach the standards of Western democracies. Especially, the deficiency in the reforms on the political institutions should be reconsidered. Nevertheless, Ukraine succeeded sufficient triple transition, coming after the Baltic States, when we compared it to the remaining post-Soviet countries like the Caucasus and the Central Asia.

Sociological Theories on Crime and Deviance

Sociological Theories on Crime and Deviance Sociologists investigate the effects of society on criminal and deviant behaviour and seek to understand individuals and their situations. They do this by gathering and utilizing information on age, gender, social class, race and ethnicity. Crime is specifically associated with behaviors that break the formal written laws of any given society; for example, British law states that seatbelts must be worn whilst driving a car. Deviance describes behaviors which infringe cultural norms and values but do not violate any written law; for instance, lying is considered by most individuals as wrong but is not against the law, unless while under oath in a court of law. As individuals even if we disagree with them we are required to abide by societies norms, values and laws. It is useful to think of deviance as a wide category of which crime is smaller part (sociology in perspective, p583) Individuals construct and learn how to fit into society through socialization within our cultures. Correct behavior, or norms and values, are learned through interaction with our family, peers and institutions, such as the education system. Norms are socially acceptable ways of behaving in any given situation, such as knowing we should be quiet in libraries. Values are the fundamental beliefs which underpin a community or society and provide the general principles for human behavior, such as the belief that stealing is wrong; as in the case of stealing, values often become laws. These norms and values and therefore behaviours considered deviant vary widely throughout history, societies, communities and cultures. For example, while one family may overlook belching at the dinner table another may be disgusted by such behavior. Moreover in Chinese culture belching during dinner is considered good manners and a sign of appreciation of the meal, Kwintessential [online]. Therefore, how behavior is regarded depends on the perspective of the people concerned. According to Becker from the perspective of Labelling Theory, no actions are by nature criminal or deviant but instead depends on the norms created by any given society. Therefore, deviance is only deviance if labelled as such through the process of interaction in which meaning is established (Sociology in perspective, pg 604). An example of this idea of labeling is public nudity; overall it is not wrong to be nude but society imposes strict rules on nudity in public places. If brave enough to go nude in publ ic you can be certain that the reactions of others would support this theory. In contrast some tribal communities such as those found in South America and Africa still dress in very little and would react little to public nudity. The idea that killing is wrong, as a fundamental human value, is a good example of how relative our belief systems are. Throughout history cultures such as the Aztecs carried out human sacrifice for their religious beliefs mnsu.edu [on line] and the religious sacrifice of animals still happens in some tribal communities today. Norms and values can become distorted and individuals may resort to stealing or even killing if there is a breakdown of norms, values or regulations. This breakdown of values shows in such cases as mercy killings and assisted suicides; individuals experience feelings of turmoil over their fundamental values and beliefs. There is much debate on the subject of assisted suicide being made legal in Britain, as is the case in countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, ask.com [online]. Also stealing is considered wrong by most individuals but again these values are easily distorted, as in the case of hurricane Katrina, Wikipedia [online]. Individuals, who had never stolen, were doing so because they were not able to attain essentials such as food and water, and it was not clear if the normal rules applied. Emile Durkheim, the Emile Durkheim Archive [online] investigated this breakdown and lack of social and moral norms and defined the term anomie. Individuals can deviate involuntarily as well as deliberately; for instance, those suffering from disorders such as Tourettes syndrome have little control over what might be considered deviant language. Whereas someone that steals a car attains their label of deviant through their own deliberate actions Subcultures are often regarded as deviant, for example, Mormon communities live relatively peacefully within wider society yet are often assigned as deviants. In contrast, subcultures such as criminal gangs are less compatible with wider society and cause social disharmony, therefore they attain their deviant label through deliberate actions. These subcultures have their own sets of norms and values to which they abide, these may not conform to the views of wider society but they are perfectly acceptable within their own cultures. Furthermore, individuals may be considered deviant because of their beliefs or sexuality. It could be argued than most religions consider their own beliefs as right and others as wrong. Homosexuality is considered to be deviant by some religions, cultures and individuals but not by others. Until the early 20th century the Siwans of North America expected all normal males to engage in homosexual intercourse, moreover they considered those that refused to be peculiar. In contrast the Rwalar Bedouins considered homosexuality as so abnormal that they put the participants to death. Functionalists argue that we need deviance to bring about social change; for example, suffragettes of the late 19th Century went to prison for their beliefs and helped to bring about womans right to vote. In some societies today such as Saudi Arabia women still do not have voting rights, wiki answers [online]. The plight of the suffragettes could also be used to emphasize a fundamental issue raised by Marxists which is, crime is the product of inadequate social conditions (Sociology in Perspective pg 608) The study of crime and sociology together seeks to understand why some individuals turn to crime and how society as a whole can prevent it. There are many types of crime which fall under three broad categories. The more physical crimes such as mugging and assault fall under Blue-collar crimes. Evidence shows that these types of crimes are most likely to be carried out by the lower or working classes; whereas white-collar crimes such as fraud and embezzlement are most likely to be carried out by the more affluent. Lastly, victimless crimes are crimes that are against the law, but no victim is seen to exist, such as Prostitution. Sociologist use statistics to obtain evidence that enables them to determine social trends such as those discussed above. Statistics can help to identify high crime areas which in turn may be used to help authorities such as the police service to reduce such crime. Lastly statistics are used to compile information for the public, such as advice on taking precautions against crime. However it is generally agreed that crime statistics are seriously flawed and it has been argued that they reveal more about the process and recording of crime than the extent of crime itself; the way police record incidents sometimes changes and so distorts information. The main difficulty is that statistics are derived from only reported crimes, British Crime Surveys show that only around 30% of crime is reported to the police (Sociology pg 181) therefore most crime goes unreported giving a unrealistic view of crime rates. There are many reasons that these crimes may go unreported, for example, people may not report crimes that they deem private or shameful such as domestic abuse. Sometimes a lack of faith in the police may prevent individuals from reporting crime. Also, some crimes go unnoticed, such as stealing from the workplace or drug dealing. Some crimes are more likely to be reported than others, which further distorts crime figures. Lastly, it has been argued that the poli ces own discretion on where to police, who to arrest and which category a crime fits can distort crime statistics. Consequently, statistics are difficult to interpret and questions should always be asked as to what they tell us and what other information should be considered when trying to extract valid information. Subsequently sociologists use other information to analyse the amount of crime in society. Self report studies involve confidential questionnaires that invite a sample of respondents to voluntarily record whether or not they have committed any of a list of offences in a particular time period. Those in favor of self-report studies would argue that they are a good method of determining the social characteristics of criminals but critics suggest they may be unreliable due to the participants exaggerating their answers or not admitting to committing criminal acts. Also the data may be biased as criminals may be less likely to answer questionnaires which may distort the information. It is argued that Crime Surveys or Victim Surveys provide a more accurate measurement of the level of crime in society, because they include hidden crime such as crimes that have not been reported to, or recorded by the police. Also their method of gathering data is consistent and is unaffected by changes in reporting or recording practices that can often hinder police statistics. Critics argue that Crime surveys still underestimate crime levels do to arbitrarily capping the number of crimes one can be victimized by in a given year; this capping can produce an unrealistic measurement in such cases as repeated domestic abuse. Crime surveys are also criticized for excluding under sixteens and those that live in communal establishments, such as nursing homes and university halls of residence. Lastly crime surveys fail to record crimes against victimless crimes such as drug trafficking, crimes against commercial premises or vehicles and because they are victim surveys murder and manslaug hter. Understanding crime and deviance is important as lower crime rates have positive effects on society; for example property values improve and money saved in the police or prison services could be made available for other social projects such as the education system.

Scarlet Letter :: Free Essay Writer

Scarlet Letter Through out the Scarlet Letter I believe that Hester and Dimmesdale do redeem themselves. I am led to think this for Three major reasons. The first being that the sin is between man and God. In my beliefs they do not have to repent to the people for they have not sinned against them. My second reason for my opinion is that both Hester and especially Dimmesdale feel bad in their hearts for what they have done. The third and final reason is that for every crime I feel that there should be an equal or greater punishment for the crime. Both of the two pay more than what is fair for the crime they committed. Sin is between man and God. Being Lutheran this is a belief of mine that I live by. I believe this for when you sin it is God’s heart you are breaking, there for you must repent to him not the people. Hester does this all through out the book. She takes the scarlet letter as a personal ignominious burden. Hester carries the shame of the A in her heart. Much deeper than just on the outside or in public. By this she shows that she is sorrowed in her heart, which in my opinion means she is repenting to God. It is very easy to see Dimmesdale’s shame and repentance in every action he carries out through out the book. Dimmesdale talks of how hard it is to preach to a congregation and save souls when his is polluted. In every action he does he feels bad for the crime he has committed and it shows with his health. For not being able to obtain peace of mind he looses sleep and proper nourishment and eventually his health for a very long period of time. When one can not obtain peace of mind in my opinion it is because ninety-nine percent of the time something is on their conscious. A conscious was God given meaning that there for Dimmesdale is constantly feeling bad begging for forgiveness from God. God is very forgiving and it is written that Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. My interpretation of this means to me that Dimmesdale repenting with his whole heart will be forgiven. If one is inline with God I feel that they are redeemed. There are cases in the bible where it says if one is to sin against the people or the church then he must confess in front of those he

The Failure of American Public Education :: Education Reform Essays

The most powerful aspect of this essay is not the essay itself (as you will see) but, rather, the fact that it was written by an American college student. Throughout many years, education has played an important role in improving our minds and society. However, what many people tend to forget is that our education is not at the best it can be. Education is defined as receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. Many people today questions whether or not our education depends on the people teaching it or if it’s the student’s responsibility to want to learn. "To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?" Education helps people learn new things, but it can be changed. Although education helps students learn and plan for the future, it can be improved to help benefit students ahead of time. On January 1st, 1975 public law number 94-142 was The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This law secured the fundamental ideals, rights and responsibilities to ascertain equal access to public education for all children who are crippled. What education has done in the years it has been around is that it simply makes life one sizably extensive, perplexed system of steps and processes. Our schools don’t accommodate the goal of a true education, but it makes it appear that they are. It would seem that the goal for a true education is for someone to absorb attention, but it is not always right to fill adolescent minds with careless facts or the ways of the world that is decided by a committee. The way that attention is gained for students is to give their own perception on things and have their own notion. From Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann states that, â€Å"education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, – the balance wheel of the social machinery.† It explicates that the consequentiality of kinds of education, including political, moral, religious, perceptive, and physical are paramount to people and to education. Education could be considered an ingredient for prosperity. Education brings power to every aspect of the mind. When a teacher gives out a test and tells the students to put their items away, Students incline to take one last visually examine their study sheets. When the test is placed in front of a student, but as one or two go to answer the first question, they freeze in apprehensiveness.

Love and Tradition in “Marriage Is a Private Affair”

Marriage traditions vary greatly throughout the world. In some cultures, people’s marriages are traditionally arranged by their parents. In others cultures, the partners make their own choice. This diversity in tradition causes many conflicts within the family as well as in the culture group. A great example of marriage and its importance to different cultures is the story by Chinua Achebe, â€Å"Marriage is a Private Affair. † The story takes place in Africa, a country of great cultural diversity. Old traditions continue to govern life in Nigerian villages, where parents often play a decisive role in choosing mates for their children. In the cities, however, modern practices displace many of the village traditions, including the role of parent as a mate finder. The tension between old and new ways of living sometimes creates conflict within families, especially between generations. The following story focuses on a conflict between a father and son about the choice of the son’s marriage partner. Despite of the strong devotion to the tradition, Okeke the father can hardly resist the love of his family. Firstly, the tradition plays a very important role in that story. Okeke is an old man, who lives in a Nigerian village, where the traditions have very important role in people’s lives. He is first introduced to the readers from the very beginning of the story in a conversation between Nene and Nnaemeka. Although this conversation reveals little about his character, we think of him as an authoritarian father. And, as a traditional Ibo, he does not accept the couple's engagement. For example, â€Å"They are most unhappy if the engagement is not arranged by them† (258) shows Nnaemeka fear of his father’s disapproval of their marriage. As a result, the conversation between Okeke and his son shows both Okeke's deep disappointment and firm objection. After this conversation Okeke does not talk to his son for eight years. This is another example of Okeke’s loyalty of his people’s tradition. As a result, he never accepts his son’s wife: â€Å"I shall never see her† (260). Okeke's actions show the reader that the tradition is stronger than amily relationships. On the other hand, despite of Okeke’s cold description in the first part of the story, he changes his thoughts after he reads the letter from Nene. Nene, his daughter-in-law, sends him a letter and the night after he reads the letter, Achebe points out that Okeke â€Å"hardly slept from remorse and a vague fear that he might die without making it up to his gran dchildren† (262). This conclusion to the story hints that the grandchildren would bring these two generations back together again. In conclusion, this story is a great example of the strong traditions in different cultures that can be stopped only with the great power of a loving family. Nnaemeka’s father was so devoted to the tradition to understand his son’s feelings or the consequences of having grandchildren that he would might never know. The letter that informs him about his grandsons breaks him down and lets the reader think of the happy ending of the story. Achebe teaches us to realize that love can conquer even the strongest traditions.

Construction and De-construction of Race Essay

Races inhabit. They argon all everyplace in the knowledge domain. In our history classes, we aim discussed the existence of Caucasians, Mongoloids, Negroes, etc. The members of each racial group have common characteristics that pull ahead them distinct from another(prenominal) groups. However, in the seek to understand better the tender versions across die hards, professionals from various fields medicine, biology, anthropology, etc have conducted studies to prove, or disprove, the existence of operates in the scientific sense. In Modern Human Variation An ingress to Contemporary Human Biological transformation , three gravels of human classification were discussed. jump is the typological model which focuses on a short number of traits that are readily evident from a distance such as skin color, hair form, eubstance build, and stature. rhombus (1994) gives truth to this, citing that all native Swedes resist from all native Nigerians in fashion and that one ra ce cannot be misguided with the other. However, Diamond also argued that on that point are many distinguishable, stirly valid procedures for defining races, and those different procedures yield very different classifications. He further discussed other studies in which the differing geographical locations of homo contri onlye to their vary human traits. Factors such as natural selection and sexual selection, and a third contingent explanation which is no function at all, were considered in human classification. Again, inconsistencies of this theory were later on discovered, showing evidences that among topical batchs, anthropologists love to try out the dark skins of African blacks, people of the grey Indian peninsula, and New Guineans and love to forget the pale skins of Amazonian Indians and Southeast Asians living at the same latitudes (Diamond, 2004).With these contentions, the typological model is contradicted. On the other hand, the population model looks for br eeding populations offset printing and then considers the anatomical and physiological traits that may distinguish them. This means looking into a single group where members mate notwithstanding with people within the group. The same word discussed, however, that with the relatively convenient means of world-wide travel, intermixture of humanity has emerged, thus make the population model relatively indeterminate in the study of human variation today.The third model, the clinal model, is based on the circumstance that genetically inherited traits closely a good deal change gradually in frequency from one geographic area to another. With this framework, the clinal model may seem to be the soundest theory on human classification. However, it cannot be in full relied on since the distribution of some traits is part discontinuous these can be tacit as results of historical migrations or soap breeding within more(prenominal) or little closed communities. We have attempt to construct races through scientific studies but failed to establish its exact definition. This brings us butt to again to the crux of our contention. Do races exist? Yes, they do. People from all over the world have been grouped based on their physical characteristics, culture, religion, ethnicity, and other factors. Groups were given call so that individuals can easily name in which group they belong. This is how lay humans understand the word race today.The image has been constructed to satisfy the human need for order. hardly as Goodman (2005) puts it, race is not a mere companionable construct, but as a lived experience has devastatingly real effects. The tress of race led to the emergence of racial discrimination, making some races assume high quality over others. With this assumption, people of the sterling(prenominal) race consequently assumed power over the minorities. The political advantage of the superior race gave way for them to gain more entry to resource s and wealth.Discrimination further reached the social sphere, with the minorities world labeled as the ugly people since their physical traits differ, most of the time in the opposite manner, from those of the superior race. expression back through world history, our books itemize us stories of some races (e. g. Africans) who were enslaved by the superior races during the earlier times. At present, racism understood exists in the form of prejudice to legitimate races that have been generalized to possess current characteristics.In Asia, the revolt of the Moro Islamic electric discharge Front (MILF) has caused prejudice against Muslims in most parts of the world, generalizing these people as terrorists. Accordingly, the social construction of races have inflicted numerous, and perhaps level millions, of incidents of social injustice worldwide. Then again, corporate trust the clinal and population models, Keita et al (2004) contend that the nonentity of races or subspecies i n late humans does not preclude warm genetic variation that may be localized to regions or populations. The authors cited a late study on the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome, which can make forensic distinctions come-at-able even within restricted regions such as Scandinavia. It was however clarified that because this appellative is possible does not mean that there is a level of differentiation equal to races. We cannot totally negate the scientific studies conducted and before long being conducted on human biological variation. These studies, as in the point of go steady of Keita et al have policy implications for wellness studies.While Keita et al advocate for more refined and detailed study on human biological variation, Goodman is also back up in his position to call for a new vocabulary and concepts to study the same. This way, the widely-known concept of race may be de-constructed. oddment in skin color, hair form, body build, religion, c ulture, ethnicity, and others, does not make an individual less of a human, and as such these characteristics should not be seen as barriers to social justice.

Bill to Law at Malaysia

3. Explain the butt how a efflorescence becomes Law. Malaysia was a former British colony and prior to its independence a relegation was appointed to draft the federal official Constitution found on the system of parliamentary democracy honest in the Great Britain. Similar to the Westminster System, Malaysias Federal Constitution divides the structure of government into three branches Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. chthonic the doctrine of separation of spots, the Legislature is the body which has the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws.There are two legislative assemblies under the Westminster system, an upper house (In Malaysia, it is called the Dewan Negara) and a decline house (Dewan Rakyat). Before an crook becomes a law, it is called a account. There are two types of identity cards, a populace touchstone and a Private Bill. Under the national Bills, there are brass Bills and Private Members Bills, where Government Bill is normally introduced by a at tend and Private Member Bill is initiated by a Member of Parliament. A Private Bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or a congregation of individuals, or corporate entity.A Bill pass on have to go through several power points forwards it becomes a law. When a Bill is introduced to system of macrophages in the parliament, it is called the First Reading. The title of the Bill is read go forth and copies of it are copied out, no debate takes place, but there ordain be a vote on whether the House wishes to consider the Bill further. During the Second Reading, the universal principles contained in the Bill are debated by the MPs. Frequently, during this stage public attention will be bony to the proposal and the debate between the MPs who accept and against the bill begins.At the end of the debate a vote is taken a majority of MPs must be in favor of the Bill in order for it to progress any further. If the Bill passes the Second Reading, it w ill come to the Committee Stage. At this stage, a detailed examination of each article of the Bill is undertaken by a mission and the committee will yield the Bill to line-by-line examination and go amendments. The membership of the committee will usually be those MPs with special knowledge, or interest, in the subject of the Bill. Next, the amended Bill goes to the Report Stage the Bill will be reviewed by the House where it started.The amendments will be debated in the House. The Third Reading is the terminal vote and debate on the Bill. It is almost a formality, since a Bill which passed through all the stages is very(prenominal) unlikely to fail at this late stage. another(prenominal) vote will be taken and if passed, because it goes through a similar process in another House. Finally, a Royal Assent by the King is needed in order for the Bill to formally become a law. Under the entire Amendment Act of 1983, the King cannot refuse to sign the bill if it has been passed b y both of the Houses in the parliament. Thereafter, the Act is gazetted and becomes an Act of Parliament.