Human Resource Is the Most Important Asset of an Organization Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Is the Most Important Asset of an Organization Essay This essay will provide a definition to Human Resource (HR) and determine whether HR is the most important asset in the organization. The first part of the essay will discuss the importance of human resource and how is it is essential to the success of any organization. The second part will identify the impacts on the performance of an organisation. Human Resource (HR) and Human Resource Management (HRM) Oswin (2011) states that human resource is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization. Rouse (2011) defines human resources as the people who work for the organization; human resource management is really employee management with an emphasis on those employees as assets of the business. In summary, all organization are made up of men and women to take up positions to do specific task and directly manage by human resource management. No matter what organization there are out there in the business world, neither technology nor machines can out beat the importance of having qualified men and women to do the task. (Dashgarzadeh et al (2012) states that an organization’s human resources are of strategic importance, because knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviours, and interactions of employees have the potential to influence organizational performance. It is true that without technology, the amount of time needed to mass produce their products will take a longer time but what are these machines without the people who operate them. People Practices Noe et al (2012) states that HRM practices include analyzing and designing work, determining human resource needs (HR planning), attracting potential employees (recruiting), choosing employees (selection), teaching employees how to perform their jobs and preparing them for the future (training and development), rewarding employees (compensation), evaluating their performance (performance management), and creating a positive work environment (employee relation). From the stated above, we can see that there a lot of money and time spent to recruit the right people and qualify them for the right job. In a study shows by Fleming (2008), it can take up to  £8000 to replace a staff member. Impact to Organisations Performance A huge percentage of an organization’s budgets are spent on human resources – in the form of recruiting, training and development, salaries, benefits and compensation. With the substantial amount of money invested on human resource, the returns must be of a measurable benefit to the organization. (U.S Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 1999: 3). If the organization decides to cut costs, in-house coaching or mentoring would be an ideal step to ensure their development are up to mark instead of reducing staff whom they had spent time and money on. By deploying a non-qualified employee to a certain task is disastrous to any organization. Selection Choosing Employees At this stage, the organization will be conducting interviews to determine the suitability and abilities of the candidate for the job. By employing an experienced and knowledgeable candidate means the organization would be able to spend less resources, like money and operational hours, to train and develop the individual to meet the standards that is required. By doing so, the organization would be able to save or invest on other resources to increase the productivity. Conclusion Human resources are the most important assets a modern organization has, because only human beings can make, transfer and exercise knowledge (Write Works, 2006). It is an utmost important that the organization recruit, select, train and develop the right people and ensure that their welfare and benefits are taken care of. I must say that every person working in the organization is the backbone and play a major role in the success or failure of an organization, regardless of how major or minor their job may be.

Pentonville Prison History

Pentonville Prison History Introduction This dissertation will identify the history of prisons and how Pentonville prison came about in 1842. It will bring in Millbank as an example to Pentonville, as it was also a convict prison. It will also identify how the crimes committed and the punishment placed on criminals in London changed when Pentonville prison was built. It will also show how the prison reform changed the prison and how it affected Pentonville prison. Law and order in London will also be identified. Information and research will be obtained from The National Archives in Kew and also the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham. It will also include primary sources such as the Times Newspaper, The Guardian and also Parliamentary papers. Secondary information will be found at the University library and also Liverpool library. During the nineteenth century, the state of prisons changed dramatically. The government and officials began to notice that crime rates were not being reduced and the prison system needed to be improved as it was out of date. Many victims of crime in the Eighteenth Century were choosing not to prosecute the criminals due to receiving community disapproval if the criminal was a local person who was liked or had a big family in the surrounding towns and villages, it was expensive for the rate payer, travelling to the trial was time consuming and a waste of time for many matters as the criminal would often be let off with a light penalty. Many offenders never even ended up in prison and many were never even recorded. Pentonville Prison was built in 1842, and was an original structure within society in this time period. It soon became a model for prison architecture and discipline throughout the majority of Europe. General Prison Information John Howard wrote a book in 1777 called ‘The State of the Prisons in England and Wales this particular book captured widespread public attention. The consequence of this book was that it exposed the English to other countries. It also suggested that the book was severely trailing behind all the other countries when it came to prisons and punishment. His main concern was to establish a new and better organisation of the prison. He believed that a prison should not be like the actual world but tougher and place that people did not want to go to, a place in which they feared. The Penitentiary Act was written up by William Blackstone and William Eden but was influenced by John Howard. It was this act that put the harsh prison conditions into place such as; uniforms, coarse diets and hard labour. Mug shots were created in the 1850s and 1860s by a Select Committee of the House of Lords photographing the prisoners in 1863. By the 1870s, mug shots were common and the Home Office saw the advantages of them. By the end of the century fingerprinting had been introduced. Not everyone who was convicted of a criminal offence was known as a convict. Anyone who had committed a minor offence would be known as a prisoner. A minor offence could receive a sentence of anything from a few days to a maximum of two years with or without hard labour. A minimum offence for penal servitude was three years which increased to five years in 1864 for a first offence but seven years for any subsequent offences. The silent system allowed for prisoners to undertake work tasks in a workroom in complete silence. The silent system however proved to be very difficult to obtain and led to it being ineffective. More staff was required to monitor and observe the prisoners. The separate system was to prevent any association with the other prisoners and as a result would become excited about the visits that the chaplain was required to do. The separate system was put in place to prevent any contamination and corruption of the vulnerable prisoners. However, a fenian convict serving fifteen years by the name of Michael Davitt spent 9 months in solitary confinement in Millbank. His health suffered leaving the medical officer with no other option but to order him to half an hour exercise. If the prisoner or convict was a family breadwinner then there family often asked the parish for help but if in the worse situation and the parish were unable to help or they refused then the family would have to enter the workhouse. Cells The cells had tiny paned windows which were so high that it was necessary to stand on them to look out, but this was a punishable offence. Cells often became hot and stuffy in the summer and cold in the winter. The cells were often poorly lit, but when gas was introduced the cells had gas jets placed in the cells but they were soon placed behind thick, fixed glass windows due to the prisoners committing suicide by self asphyxiation or hanging. There was rarely a mattress for the prisoners that were in their first of their sentence, this changed to a hard plank bed in 1865. Oscar Wilde describes the Victorian prison cells darkness stating that ‘it is always twilight in ones cell, as it is always midnight in ones heart. This statement identifies that the cells were very depressing for the person within it especially when the lighting was also minimal. If the convict was under the age of 50 then he was issued with a plank bed that had no mattress for one month. The surgeon was the only person that could have changed this uncomfortable fate for the prisoner if he had deemed that the convict or prisoner was unfit to sleep without a mattress. Oscar Wilde recalled that the plank bed ‘caused him to shiver all night long and that, as a consequence of its rigors, he had become an insomniac.'[1] A report that was made to the Royal Commission on the Penal Servitude Acts in 1879 claimed that the bed clothes could sometimes be covered with faeces. Complaints were made about Pentonville cells being unbearably cold. This is somewhat arguably ironic due to the efforts that were put in place to create the ideal model cells. The first commissioners report in 1843 was no more than two pages long. It commented on the temperature of the cells ‘the ventilation of the cells, and the means of maintain an equable and proper temperature. Pentonville was originally designed to hold 520 prisoners whilst under the ‘separate system. Individual cells were 13 feet long, 7 feet wide and 9 feet high. They were placed in cells that contained a table, chair, a cobblers bench, hammock, broom, bucket and a corner shelf which held a pewter mug and dish, a bar of soap, a towel and a bible. When the cells were inspected by the inspectors the prisoners were required to have these items in specific places. Millbank prison held up to 1000 cells, making it the largest prison in London during the 19th century. The Times Newspaper from 1850-1900 shows a few extracts which describe both the criminals within Millbank and also the state of the prison. An extract on the 23rd January 1850 shows how a warder was attacked by a prisoner. The opening sentence went as follows, ‘Saturday morning last the interior of the Millbank Penitentiary was again the scene of a most desperate outrage. The word ‘again identifies the lack of control that the warders had on the prisoners within the prison. The incident on the 23rd January resulted in a warder by the name of ‘Balls ‘ending up in hospital after a violent attack from one of the prisoners. Balls let a prisoner out of his chamber to allow him to clean out his chamber pot, the prisoner then followed Balls back to his cell and hit him over the head. The prisoner was able to cause several severe injuries to the head, face and arms before several other warders were able to secure the prisoner in a ‘strong cell. Punishment The separate system was to ensure that the prisoners would not interact with other criminals in whom they would be able to become friendly with and join forces with when they got out of prison. This was an attempt to stop convicts from becoming repetitive criminals and to stop the revolving door theory. When the convicts were moved around the building they were made to wear a mask with a beak on to prevent other convicts seeing their faces but Colonel Jebb argued in his discipline and management of convict prisons report that ‘the mask or peak does not prevent prisoners from recognising each other in the prison'[2] They were also stripped of their identities when they entered the prison. The prisoners would also become overly bored sitting in their cells on their own that they would eventually beg for work to overcome their boredom and prevent them from going mad. The Times Newspaper described the separate system in 1842 as the ‘maniac making system indicating that people believed that the system was not a good idea and it would just send men and women insane but still the Home office agreed with the separate system. Two thirds of English prisons had adopted the separate system in 1856. The fourth commissioners identifies that the prisoners were strictly separated from fellow prisoners. They were supplied with books which were usually the bible and books that provided information and instruction on a particular trade. They were allowed to attend school twice a week and also according the report the prisoners were also provided with sufficient diets, clothing and also bedding but this can be argued due to the plank beds and also the poor diets which resulted in many prisoners falling ill. The prisoners were required to endure 18 months in complete solitude in 1842, but after many prisoners became mentally insane the prison authorities felt that the time period should be decreased to 12 months in 1848 then decreased again to 9 months in 1853. Even though they were in their cells on their own, the man in the next cell was only two feet away. The major problem for the separatists at this time was the belief held by many that the long periods of isolation for prisoners created insanity. Pentonville reduced periods of separation at Pentonville which was much to the Chaplains displeasure. When Pentonville separation time period was decreased to 9 months it was the same amount of time that the prisoners at Parkhurst had to endure. Millbank Prison did not allow criminals to have visitors without an order from the Home secretary of state, this was part of the separate system as the government believed that if the prisoner saw anyone from the outside then they would go back to their ‘old ways. When Henry Mayhew visited Pentonville he found from interviews with the prisoners that they disliked the separate system with a passion. Even though prisoners were not allowed to talk or communicate to fellow inmates, it is evident that many tended to disobey this rule. The 6th Commissioners report states that 220 prisoners committed offences whilst being within Pentonville, and that 110 out of the 220 were for attempts to communicate with other prisoners either by writing, signs or verbally. The total number of prisoners placed within Pentonville during the year 1847 was 701, so only 220 prisoners committing offences within the prison walls shows that many prisoners were afraid and obeyed the system. 341 of these prisoners were existing prisoners from the previous year whilst 360 prisoners were received to Pentonville in the course of the year. However, a new system known as the ‘stage system was put in place in 1853 to enforce discipline and also to reward good behaviour. Penal servitude was divided into three stages, the first being 9 months in solitary confinement, the second being where the convict was required to work in close association with other prisoners and the last stage was where the convict or prisoner was kept under supervision by the police when they were released. Convicts were divided into classes and could be promoted to the next class by earning ‘mark for hard work. A maximum of 8 hours could be earned in one day. The first and second class were allowed tea instead of gruel before they were sent to bed. Du Cane states that the main elements of prison were ‘hard labour, hard fare and hard board Hard labour was both hard and pointless, it included labour such as Oakum picking, the crank, the treadmill and also the shot drill. The treadmill involved walking up revolving stairs for ten minutes then having a five minute break. This happened for several hours. It was invented by William Cubitt in 1818 and the prison discipline society advised that every male should participate in 12,000 feet. The treadmill could be very dangerous for those who were new to it and also for those who were exhausted. The Shot drill were heavy cannon balls weighing 32lb were passed from one to another down a long line of prisoners. It was not adopted by many prisons. The conditions at Pentonville were incredibly better than those at Newgate. The prisoners at Pentonville were also healthier than prisoners at another prison. Like Millbank, prisoners were made to work and participate in jobs such as picking tarred rope and weaving. The jobs in which they made to do were pointless jobs which served no purpose. The Times Newspaper states that the hours of work in the summer were 6am till 9pm and 7am till 8pm in the winter. The prisoners were separated into classes when they entered the prison which resulted in the same atmosphere that people endured outside the prison. They were also made to work; it was believed that if prisoners worked whilst in prison then they would not have time to think of committing more crimes. They were forced to do work such as shoemaking, tailoring, painting, cleaning, whitewashing the prison, washing and sewing prison clothes. In 1864, Oakum picking was introduced as part of the hard labour programme. This involved separating the fibres of old ship ropes so they could be re used. In 1870 two cranks were introduced to a local prison, Nottingham Gaol, this was a box with a handle on the side in which the prisoner was made to turn round in a circle. The prisoner was required to make 10,000 revolutions per day before breakfast. The task of the crank was one task that was completely pointless, it served no meaning but to irritate the prisoner and increase their upper body strength so they were able to complete more heavy duty work whilst in prison and also when they leave prison and get a job. Henry Mayhew states that ‘it is impossible to imagine anything more ingeniously useless'[3]. Labour was both long and without any intentions of ceasing. The 1865 Prison Act accepted that the treadmill, crank, capstan, shot drill and stone breaking were all types of first class hard labour and that if a prisoner or convict was not sentenced to hard labour then they were still required to participate in light labour during their sentence. Prisoners were made to work an hour and a half before breakfast, 3 hours before lunch and a further 4 hours in the afternoon totalling 8 and a half hours hard labour a day. The prisoners returned to their cells at 6pm and were allowed to have two hours after their dinner to sit on their own and reflect or read the bible. When the prisoner or convict was serving a long sentence, these two hours would become incredibly boring. When public hangings were abolished in 1868, Pentonville had trapdoors installed over a 12 feet deep brick lined pit within the exercise yard. Albert Pierrepoint described the trap in 1931 as ‘having two leaves each some 8 feet 6 inches long, 2 feet 6 inches wide.'[4] The prison was also a school to teach hangmen, there was a one week course at Pentonville in which men got involved in to become a hangman. They were taught how to calculate and set the drop of the gallows and also how to carry out an execution efficiently including the speed of pulling the trapdoor open and also how long a human takes to die from strangulation if the neck did not break from the drop. Albert Pierrepoint states that the hangman trainees used a dummy called ‘Old Bill whilst training. The last training course held at Pentonville was the week beginning 25th April 1960 for two men called Samuel Plant and John Underhill. Whipping was also a major punishment in the nineteenth century. The Home office in 1878 took responsibility for prisons and created three categories for the birch which was used for whipping. A thin strip of birch was used for juveniles up to the age of ten, a medium for ten to 16 years and thick for individuals over the age of 16 years. The birch was applied to naked buttocks whilst feet were kept together and shirts lifted. The effects of whipping were a little bleeding but mainly severe bruising. Once the pain of the whipping was over and the aching of the bruising had gone down, criminals could carry on committing crimes within a matter of weeks. The birch and cat was also used on prisoners all over the country for punishing prisoners who assaulted or swore at warders. Both male and female criminals sentenced to transportation were sent to Millbank before they were transported although Pentonville has been viewed as being the first stage of transportation as Forsythe states ‘the portal to the penal colony'[5]. Transportation was a sentence in which could have held a life sentence or for a set amount of time. It was seen as a humane version of execution. At one point, returning from a transportation sentence was a hanging offence. Both major and petty crimes could result in the transportation punishment during the 17th to 19th centuries. Until 1868, convicts could be transported to a penal colony on the other side of the world. Transportation criminals were originally sent to the colonies in North America until the American War of Independence in 1775.Britain was then forced to send their criminals to Australia. The 4th commissioners report on the 10th March 1846 identifies that 382 prisoners had completed their period and had been removed from Pentonville to Van Diemens land which was an Island of Tasmania but it is now part of Australia. They were placed into classes which were as follows, the ticket of leave class was the first which contained 288 prisoners, Probationary pass holders was the second which contained a further 78 prisoners and then the penal gangs class was the third which contained the last 16 prisoners. Ticket of leave was where the prisoner had the advantage of freedom within the colony, the probationary pass holders were able to work for themselves with restrictions and the penal gangs were where the convict was required to serve a certain period after they arrived in their allocated location. There was also a journey in July 1845 in which a total of 100 prisoners were transported on the Royal George Seymour ship. The commissioners report states that they received a sati sfactory account of the prisoners conduct for the journey and the arrival. Prisoners who were sentenced to transportation were perceived as being the ‘pick of the criminal crop'[6] identifying that the criminals who were sent abroad to serve their sentence were the worst kind of people and criminals. Food Prisons were run like machines and all the prisoners within Pentonville prison could have their breakfasts delivered to them in ten minutes. The prisons were instructed to make the prisoners food as monotonous as possible as part of the hard fare factor and the prisoners had hard beds instead of hammocks as part of the hard board factor. A letter written to the Times editor by a Mr Robert Hosking, who was Pentonvilles governor, identifies the costs of convicts at the Pentonville Prison. He states that ‘convicts in Pentonville prison are actually rioting in gluttony'[7] due to lack of food. He identifies what the prisons have in relation to meals. The extract also identifies that if a prisoner is on surveillance for bad behaviour then they would receive less bread than the rest of the prisoners. The convicts diet consisted mainly of bread in which they receive a 10oz at breakfast, 5 oz at lunch and a further 5oz for their supper. Their diet included both carbohydrates and protein but very little else. The prisoners were given water gruel and a small loaf of brown bread. The cooks put a lot of salt in their food to add seasoning, but the salt made the prisoners thirsty which made swallowing the food incredibly hard and painful. The potatoes that were given to the prisoners were inedible and were rotten, whilst the suet pudding was both dry and tasteless with bit of suet visible to the naked eye. The 1864 report on the dietaries of convict prisoners claims that there were two separate diets within the prison, the first being the penal class diet and the second being the punishment diet. The penal diet consisted of the standard food allowance that the prisoners were entitled to such as porridge potatoes and bread but the punishment diet consisted of bread and water and every fourth day then they were allowed the penal class diet. Dartmoor was the only convict prison within the country that allowed its prisoners cocoa for supper three times a week. The committee recommended that the dietary needs for male convicts within separate confinement and also industrial employment consisted of 284oz per week of solid food which contained 148 oz of bread, 96oz of potatoes, 16oz of meat, 4oz of cheese and also 4oz of meat that was in soup. One prisoner commented on the suet pudding to the Gladstone Committee and stated that ‘mo matter how hungry a man might be, his stomach would naturally turn from it[8]. This identifies the extent of the ghastliness of the food in which convicts and prisoners were required to eat especially when some prisoners and convicts would eat candle ends and boot grease to control their hunger. Oscar Wilde told friends after leaving prison that the food was both revolting and also insufficient. The total cost of each prisoners diet was 3s 11/2d per week or 8l 3s 41/2 for the year. In the 4th commissioners report it mentions an increase in the diet expenses and the reason being due to the rise in the price of the flour and the potatoes. A Convict Prison Pentonville prison began to be constructed on the 10th April 1840 and was completed in 1842. The total cost of the building of the prison was  £84, 186 12s 12d and the total upkeep of each prisoner was 15s a week in the 1840s which is the equivalent of 75p in todays money. Two acts had to be passed to allow the building of the prison. The convict service was established in 1850 when Millbank, Pentonville and the hulks became under the governments control. Like Millbank prison which was the first convict prison in London, Pentonville was built on the ideas and plans of Jeremy Bentham. The Pentonville Prison followed Benthams Panopticon idea; the panopticon idea was the criminals were under constant surveillance. The Prison had a central hall which was surrounded by five wings, which all members of staff were able to survey from the central hall. Pentonville soon became the model prison for all British prisons during the Victorian era and over the next six years a further 54 other prisons were built throughout Britain with the same design as Pentonville. Even though Pentonville was known as the model prison, prisoners still managed to escape from it. An extract in the Times in December 1850 identifies George Hackett, a professional criminal who mastered in bus muggings and had a criminal history with the Thames police and Mansion House. Hackett as stated by the Times made an ‘extraordinary escape from the Pentonville (model) prison. When investigation went into place, it was found that Hackett escaped the police court with another man, and a turnkey had received a large amount of money. Hackett was serving a sentence for a crime that he committed on the 29th May 1850 in which he nearly murdered a police constable. He was sentenced to 15 years of transportation. The investigation resulted in authorities believing that the turnkeys had been tampered with. The next day on the 4th December, the Times commented on this speculation once again by stating that the government inspectors of prisons launched an inquiry into a private inve stigation into the escape of Hackett. They believed that the turnkeys and the officers had helped Hackett escape from the prison which identifies that the officials at the prison were easily influenced and like Millbank held little control of the convicts. There was six main convict prisons throughout Britain- Millbank was used as a transportation dept, Pentonville as a model separation, Portsmouth and Portland for associated labour, Parkhurst for juvenile delinquencies, Brixton was a womans prison and Dartmoor was for invalids that were unable to participate in labour. Local prisons were vastly different from a convict prison due to the difference in skills. There was such a high turnover of prisoners within a local prison whilst prisoners within a convict prison served longer periods of time. A prisoner within the convict prison would have more than likely done time in a local prison before being transferred to the convict so the officers within the convict prisons were well informed of each prisoner as the paper work and inspection had already been done for convict officers. There were also distinct differences within the prisoners accommodation, discipline, work tasks and the general treatment of the prisoners. If a convict was well behaved during his sentence then he could be entitled to their sentences being shortened but a local prisoner who was sentenced to a maximum of two years did not have the option of having the sentence shortened whether they were well behaved or not until 1898. In 1877 these differences became minimal as the government took over all prisons in Britain including the local prisons. Each prison throughout the country was required to have school staff ‘at an additional expense of  £2,230.'[9]The convict prison has school staff on site from 1870 onwards and the local from 1879 onwards. The 4th Commissioners report in 1846 identifies that the state of Pentonville prison was in a perfect state of repair and only several important additions had been made to the prison during the years 1845-1846 one of these being the erection of a ‘complete apparatus for the manufacture of gas for the use of the establishment'[10]. In the 6th Commissioners report in 1847-48 it claims that an additional six sittings had been made within the chapel and also a fire main was laid down in order to supply the engine with water from a large tank in the roof. It also claimed that the ventilating, warming and cooking apparatus were in good order but complaints from the prisoners perceives a different story as they constantly complained of the cold cells. Prisoners When a convicted prisoner was sent to prison they travelled in a hearse like omnibus which was nicknamed the Black Maria when they went from the courts to the prison. They would then begin their prison journey in the reception ward where they were made to strip naked and had their clothes and possessions confiscated of him. They were then placed into a bath of waist high water which tended to smell like carbolic acid, this bath was not to clean them but to erase their original selves and replace it with their new prison lives. Their heads were shaved and the prisoners were not allowed to grow their hair till 3 months before the end of their sentence. Uniforms were issued which were different colours or markings depending on the prison sentence that the person is serving. Old or repaired boots were also issued to each prisoner but underwear was not issued till late nineteenth century. His name was changed to a number which he would be known as for the time he spent within the prison. If the prisoner was a repetitive convict then the number would be different each time. Each prisoner was allowed one visit every 6 months and one letter every 6 months, which made prisoners feel very lonely but with their I.Ds stripped they were made to feel like completely different men to what they were when they entered the prison. The warder also listened in on the conversations and watched to make sure that nothing was being passed between the prisoner and the visitor. The warder also timed the meeting by using a sandglass which allowed the meeting to be no longer than fifteen minutes. The longer the prisoner was in prison the shorter the time period for visits became. Prisoners serving within the second year were allowed visits every 4 months and prisoners within the third year or more were allowed visits every three months. The letters that the prisoners wrote to family and friends were censored and read by the governor and the chaplain before they were sent off. They were forbidden to write about the prison or other prisoners that were within it. The convicts at Pentonville Prison were made to wear dark grey outfits with ‘P.P embroided in red into the collar. The P.P stood for Pentonville Prison. The first ever mention of a prisoner having a structured daily routine was in 1865, the daily routine of a prisoner from this date was as follows: they were woken at 5.45am by the sound of a bell and returned to their beds at 8pm. They were allowed an hour or half an hour of exercise which was required to be done in silence within the special yards. After, they were made to work for a further 8 hours. The prisoners day would include waking up, working, eating meals, visiting the chapel, exercising, and an inspection ending with the lights being put out. The routine differed on a Sunday with the bell ringing slightly later and the day containing church services and exercise. Prisoners were made to endure 3 chapel services every Sunday, Christmas day and also Good Friday. The chapel was only able to accommodate half the prisoners so each prisoner was required to attend two services on a Sunday and then one upon the following. Daily prayers were read within the chapel every morning and evening. Each prisoner would attend one of these daily services. This was to cleanse the prisoners soul and make them a better person when they were released back into society. It was attempts into making the prisoner go back into work rather than result to crime. In the morning they were allowed out of their cells to have a wash with which a bucket of water was provided, this water would then be used to clean their cells and tin ware. This was also the time in which they were required to clean out their slop buckets and roll up their bedding, which had to be done correctly. Not all prisoners were guilty when they were sent to prison, an example of this is a man named Valentine Bambrick who was a recipient of the Victorian Cross. He was sent to prison for protecting a woman against a man named Henry Russell, whilst protecting her in a fight broke out and Russell later accused Bambrick and a woman named Charlotte Johnson of stealing his medals and violent assault. Bambrick had his Victorian Cross revoked by the Royal Warrant in December 1863. He fell into a deep depression and after writing a letter protesting his innocence he committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell in Pentonville Prison. The 6th Commissioners report shows that half the prisoners in Pentonville in 1847-48 were between the ages of 20-25 years old and two thirds were unmarried. One third of 701 prisoners had been imprisoned in other places of confinement beforehand, 74 had been imprisoned twice before and 27 had been imprisoned three times before. Even with the harsh prison regulations and conditions, people still chose to continually break the law and find themselves back in Pentonville; five men during 1847-48 were serving their tenth time within Pentonville. Health Prisoners were often observed and it was found that due to the separate system many prisoners would leave prison suffering from crying outbursts and hysteria, some had to cover their ears due to the noise being too much for them to cope with. Others often found themselves daydrea

Exploring Morality in Measure for Measure Essay -- Measure for Measure

Exploring Morality in Measure for Measure   Ã‚   In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare is able to examine the concept of right and wrong through the characters of Mistress Overdone and Mariana. Throughout the play, by using characters that most people would find morally reprehensible, Shakespeare is able to give the audience a different view of these people and, hopefully, show his audience that people aren't always what they appear to be. Through the character of Mistress Overdone, Shakespeare is able to bring a jovial side to the oldest job known to man -- prostitution. Through the character of Mariana, Shakespeare allows the audience to decide if two wrongs do, in fact, make a right. While the concepts of right and wrong are given a twist in this play, Shakespeare, in the end, allows his audience to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. At the beginning of act one, scene two, Shakespeare uses the bawd, Mistress Overdone, to convey to the audience that Angelo is enforcing the fornication laws of Vienna. While this seems like the more moral, and more right, action to take, Shakespeare puts a twist on what the audience would normally view as a clear cut case. In lines 79 - 81, Mistress Overdone explains to the audience the effects of these new policies. So, while it seems right to shut these businesses down, the audience now is shown that prostitution is this lady's livelihood and her way for making money. However, who is to decide if the "moral benefits" of eliminating the public display of prostitution is in the best interest of the city? By posing this question, Shakespeare forces the audience to consider both sides of the issue to, in the end, make some decision.    In England, during that time... ... While, of course, this play does not say that Shakespeare was in favor of prostitution, it does force his audience to see these people as individuals and not objects. Likewise, by introducing the description of Mariana, Shakespeare challenges the idea of something always being right or wrong. Through the two characters, Shakespeare is able to have his audience challenge their ideas of right and wrong and force them into justifying these decisions. Sources Cited and Consulted Knight, G. Wilson. Shakespeare and Morality. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967. Leech, Clifford. "The 'Meaning' of Measure for Measure." Shakespeare Survey 3 (1950): 69-71. Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. The Arden Shakespeare. Ed. J.W. Lever. London: Routledge, 1995. Thomas, Vivian.   The Moral Universe of Shakespeare's Problem Plays.   London: Croom Helm, 1987.

The Truman Show :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites â€Å"The Truman Show† is a profoundly disturbing movie. On the surface, it deals with the worn out issue of the intermingling of life and the media. Examples for such incestuous relationships abound: Ronald Reagan, the cinematic president was also a presidential movie star. In another movie (â€Å"The Philadelphia Experiment†) a defrosted Rip Van Winkle exclaims upon seeing Reagan on television (40 years after his forced hibernation started): â€Å"I know this guy, he used to play Cowboys in the movies†. Candid cameras monitor the lives of webmasters (website owners) almost 24 hours a day. The resulting images are continuously posted on the Web and are available to anyone with a computer. The last decade witnessed a spate of films, all concerned with the confusion between life and the imitations of life, the media. The ingenious â€Å"Capitan Fracasse†, â€Å"Capricorn One†, â€Å"Sliver†, â€Å"Wag the Dog† and many lesser films have all tried to tackle this (un)fortunate state of things and its moral and practical implications. The blurring line between life and its representation in the arts is arguably the main theme of â€Å"The Truman Show†. The hero, Truman, lives in an artificial world, constructed especially for him. He was born and raised there. He knows no other place. The people around him – unbeknownst to him – are all actors. His life is monitored by 5000 cameras and broadcast live to the world, 24 hours a day, every day. He is spontaneous and funny because he is unaware of the monstrosity of which he is the main cogwheel. But Peter Weir, the movie’s director, takes this issue one step further by perpetrating a massive act of immorality on screen. Truman is lied to, cheated, deprived of his ability to make choices, controlled and manipulated by sinister, half-mad Shylocks. As I said, he is unwittingly the only spontaneous, non-scripted, â€Å"actor† in the on-going soaper of his own life. All the other figures in his life, including his parents, are actors. Hundreds of millions of viewers and voyeurs plug in to take a peep, to intrude upon what Truman innocently and honestly believes to be his privacy. They are shown responding to various dramatic or anti-climactic events in Truman’s life. That we are the moral equivalent of these viewers-voyeurs, accomplices to the same crimes, comes as a shocking realization to us. We are (live) viewers and they are (celluloid) viewers.

Dyslexia :: essays research papers

DYSLEXIA AND THE PHONOLOGICAL MODEL Over one hundred years ago, in November 1896, a doctor in Sussex, England, published the first description of the learning disorder that would come to be known as developmental dyslexia. "Percy F.,... aged 14,... has always been a bright and intelligent boy," wrote W. Pringle Morgan in the "British Medical Journal," "quick at games, and in no way inferior to others of his age. His great difficulty has been--and is now--his inability to learn to read.† (Sec 3) In that brief introduction, Morgan captured the illness that has intrigued and frustrated scientists for a century. In 2000 as in 1896, reading ability is taken as a substitute for intelligence; most people assume that if someone is smart, motivated and schooled, he or she will learn to read. But the experience of millions of dyslexics, like Percy F., has shown that assumption to be false. In dyslexia, the relation between intelligence and reading ability breaks down. Early explanations of dyslexia in the 1920s, held that defects in the visual system were to blame for the reversals of letters and words thought to typify dyslexic reading. Eye training was often prescribed to overcome these alleged visual defects. Later research has shown, however, that children with dyslexia are not unusually prone to reversing letters or words and that the deficit responsible for the disorder is related to the language system. In particular, dyslexia reflects a deficiency in the processing of the distinctive linguistic units, called phonemes that make up all spoken and written words. Current linguistic models of reading and dyslexia now provide an explanation of why some very intelligent people have trouble learning to read and performing other language-related tasks. Over the past twenty years, a consistent model of dyslexia has emerged that is based on phonological processing. The phonological model is consistent both with the clinical symptoms of dyslexia and with what neuroscientists know about brain organization and function. To understand how the phonological model works, one first has to consider the way in which language is processed in the brain. Researchers theorize the language system as a hierarchical series of modules or components, each devoted to a particular aspect of language. At the upper levels of the hierarchy are components involved with semantics (vocabulary or word meaning), syntax (grammatical structure) and discourse (connected sentences). At the lowest level of the hierarchy is the phonological module, which is dedicated to processing the distinctive sound elements that constitute language.

Argentina Pestle Analysis

Argentina government has a strong democratic setup. In 2011, President Fernandez de Kirchner won the presidency for the second time. Her government has been successful at introducing reforms to encourage regional trade and support private sector investment, particularly for the development of the country’s infrastructure, primarily through private-public partnership. The government has also announced the creation of the oil planning commission, emphasizing its interest in the oil industry1.The Fernandez government is increasingly reliant on interventionist policies that fail to solve underlying structural problems and has been involved in several inflation figures manipulation and corruption charges, including a commotion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning inaccurate governance indicators impairing the economic outlook and deterring investment2. This has generated public discontent raising increasing protest against the government and a rapid decline in Fern andez popularity3.Argentina foreign policies are mainly concentrated on developing regional trading relations (Mercosur and UnaSur), the country has a good partnership with the UN and has been working on improving relations with the US, with particular interest to develop the technology and science sectors. Nevertheless, relations with the UK have deteriorated following an official complaint to the UN regarding the Falkland Islands4.ECONOMICFollowing the global financial crisis the Argentine economy has achieved a healthy recovery, predominantly through an increasing trade relationship with China, boosting substantially the country’s trade volume and generating a trading surplus5. However, the major concern for the economy is inflation and the great discrepancy of approximately 15% between official and non-governmental estimates. In addition, the government has increased regulatory intervention and thus reduced economic freedom and development.The government’s recent n ationalisation of oil giant YPF owned by the Spanish Company Repsol and of the private pension funds have furthermore hindered private and foreign investment. These factors combined with high public debt levels and low foreign-exchange reserves have constrained the potential for economic growth and left the country at increased risk of recession. Argentina has a strong automotive industry. The government is aiming to attract further investments into the country’s automotive sector by lessening the regulatory framework obstacles and offering subsidies and incentives6.SOCIALArgentina is a traditionally urban country and continues to experience high migration from rural areas. The urban centres enjoy a relatively high standard of living comparable to other Latin American countries, with notable healthcare and educational facilities. Argentina is facing the problems posed by an aging population. This is projected to affect government's social security budgets and generate fiscal burdens. Despite a comprehensive education system restructuring and an improving primary school education system, dropout rates continue to rise sharply7.This will eventually lead to a significant increase in the proportion of unskilled workers. TECHNOLOGICAL With a strong telecommunications industry and a growing IT market, Argentina has shown significant growth in both sectors. The government has implemented plans to augment IT service penetration in rural areas. In addition, it has supported biofuel R&D in an effort to preserve energy security and accelerate technological development8.Argentina’s energy industry is in a deplorable state as they are now a net energy importer, eroding the country’s foreign-currency reserves9. As a result, the government has shown an increasing interest in science and technology and in the biotechnology industry. However, as a result of inadequate investment in R&D, there is a low degree of innovation resulting in a reduced number of p atents granted. Moreover, the lack of respect for intellectual property rights and copyrights has exacerbated the problem. LEGALArgentina has a comprehensive legal and regulatory structure and a federal republican representative government, where each province has its own constitution. In addition, complex and bureaucratic business regulations and strong union and government ties have resulted in wages increasing at 25-35% annual rates. Furthermore, high taxes have been detrimental to investment. For instance, income and corporate tax rates are both set at 35% added to corporate social security tax of between 23% and 27%. These additional costs place an undue burden in industry10.Notwithstanding the introduction of criminal liability for money laundering offences, the judicial system requires an important overhaul to improve its effectiveness and to generate a conducive environment for new business ventures and investments.ENVIRONMENTALDespite having a remarkable biodiversity and va st natural resources, the Argentinian government has been overexploiting its natural resources as a side effect of the rapid economic development. Increasing deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats have been accelerated by soybean cultivation and beef production11.Water and air pollution are major problems, particularly around industrial metropolitan areas. Rising concerns over environmental degradation have resulted in ambitious schemes from the government to develop renewable energy sources. The government has initiated measures to collaborate with prominent multinational organisations to develop biofuel production with particular interest in ethanol from sugarcane pulp12. Moreover, the Argentine government, in partnership with Chinese investments is constructing the largest wind power project in Latin America and is projected to provide 4% of Argentina’s power requirements. ï » ¿Argentina PESTLE analysis POLITICALArgentina government has a strong democratic setup. In 2011, President Fernandez de Kirchner won the presidency for the second time. Her government has been successful at introducing reforms to encourage regional trade and support private sector investment, particularly for the development of the country’s infrastructure, primarily through private-public partnership. The government has also announced the creation of the oil planning commission, emphasizing its interest in the oil industry1.The Fernandez government is increasingly reliant on interventionist policies that fail to solve underlying structural problems and has been involved in several inflation figures manipulation and corruption charges, including a commotion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning inaccurate governance indicators impairing the economic outlook and deterring investment2. This has generated public discontent raising increasing protest against the government and a rapid declin e in Fernandez popularity3.Argentina foreign policies are mainly concentrated on developing regional trading relations (Mercosur and UnaSur), the country has a good partnership with the UN and has been working on improving relations with the US, with particular interest to develop the technology and science sectors. Nevertheless, relations with the UK have deteriorated following an official complaint to the UN regarding the Falkland IslandsECONOMICFollowing the global financial crisis the Argentine economy has achieved a healthy recovery, predominantly through an increasing trade relationship with China, boosting substantially the country’s trade volume and generating a trading surplus5. However, the major concern for the economy is inflation and the great discrepancy of approximately 15% between official and non-governmental estimates. In addition, the government has increased regulatory intervention and thus reduced economic freedom and development.The government’s r ecent nationalisation of oil giant YPF owned by the Spanish Company Repsol and of the private pension funds have furthermore hindered private and foreign investment. These factors combined with high public debt levels and low foreign-exchange reserves have constrained the potential for economic growth and left the country at increased risk of recession.Argentina has a strong automotive industry. The government is aiming to attract further investments into the country’s automotive sector by lessening the regulatory framework obstacles and offering subsidies and incentives6.SOCIALArgentina is a traditionally urban country and continues to experience high migration from rural areas. The urban centres enjoy a relatively high standard of living comparable to other Latin American countries, with notable healthcare and educational facilities. Argentina is facing the problems posed by an aging population. This is projected to affect government's social security budgets and generate f iscal burdens.Despite a comprehensive education system restructuring and an improving primary school education system, dropout rates continue to rise sharply7. This will eventually lead to a significant increase in the proportion of unskilled workers.TECHNOLOGICALWith a strong telecommunications industry and a growing IT market, Argentina has shown significant growth in both sectors. The government has implemented plans to augment IT service penetration in rural areas. In addition, it has supported biofuel R&D in an effort to preserve energy security and accelerate technological development.Argentina’s energy industry is in a deplorable state as they are now a net energy importer, eroding the country’s foreign-currency reserves9. As a result, the government has shown an increasing interest in science and technology and in the biotechnology industry. However, as a result of  inadequate investment in R&D, there is a low degree of innovation resulting in a reduced numbe r of patents granted. Moreover, the lack of respect for intellectual property rights and copyrights has exacerbated the problem.LEGALArgentina has a comprehensive legal and regulatory structure and a federal republican representative government, where each province has its own constitution. In addition, complex and bureaucratic business regulations and strong union and government ties have resulted in wages increasing at 25-35% annual rates. Furthermore, high taxes have been detrimental to investment. For instance, income and corporate tax rates are both set at 35% added to corporate social security tax of between 23% and 27%. These additional costs place an undue burden in industry.Notwithstanding the introduction of criminal liability for money laundering offences, the judicial system requires an important overhaul to improve its effectiveness and to generate a conducive environment for new business ventures and investments.ENVIRONMENTALDespite having a remarkable biodiversity and vast natural resources, the Argentinian government has been overexploiting its natural resources as a side effect of the rapid economic development. Increasing deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats have been accelerated by soybean cultivation and beef production11. Water and air pollution are major problems, particularly around industrial metropolitan areas.Rising concerns over environmental degradation have resulted in ambitious schemes from the government to develop renewable energy sources. The government has initiated measures to collaborate with prominent multinational organisations to develop biofuel production with particular interest in ethanol from sugarcane pulp12. Moreover, the Argentine government, in partnership with Chinese investments is constructing the largest wind power project in Latin America and is projected to provide 4% of Argentina’s power requirements.

Survey on Body Image

Ref. No. ((((Interviewer No. _____ Survey on Body Image (Sample Questionnaire) PART I Please put a tick ( in the box that best reflects your opinion. 1. Are you aged over 25? ( Yes (Please continue answering question 2 in this part) ( No (This is the end of this survey. Thank you very much for your assistance! ) 2. In general, are you satisfied with your body figure? (Interviewer please check the quota) ( Yes ( No PART II Please indicate how do you think about the following statements is true by circle the number. No. |Questions |Strongly |Disagree |Neutral |Agree |Strongly | | | |Disagree | | | |Agree | | | | | | | | | |2 |I think I am shorter than I should have. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |3 |I prefer to wear clothes that can hide my body shape. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |4 |I need to do something to change my body figure. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |5 |I am very dissatisfied with my body figure. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |6 |I always take records of my body weight. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |7 |I always read diet publications. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |8 |I always calculate the calorie intake. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |9 |I always pay attention on the issue of slimming. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |10 |Celebrities’/models’ body image is my desired body image. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |11 |I feel unsatisfactory to my body shape when comparing with the |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | |celebrities’/models’ body image. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |12 |I am very envious of those celebrities’/models’ body figures appear on those |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | |slimming advertisements. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |13 |I want to look as good as a model/celebrity. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | |14 |I think celebrities’/models’ body image is a symbol of beauty. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |No. Questions |Strongly |Disagree |Neutral |Agree |Strongly | | | |Disagree | | | |Agree | | | | | | | | | |16 |I believe I would have more job opportunities if I have a good figure. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |17 |I believe I would have longer life if I have a good figure. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |18 |I believe I would have many admirers if I have a good figure. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |19 |I believe I would have more acceptances in social life if I have a good |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | |figure. | | | | | | |20 |People around me are more likely to make friends with slim people. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | |21 |People around me would use different ways to keep body shape. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |22 |People around me do not satisfied with their body figure. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |23 |People around me like discussing on their body shape. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |24 |I feel not in the group if I am fatter than people around me. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |25 |I do mind if people play a joke on my body figure. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |26 |IÂ  do mind if I find that I have gained some weight. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |27 |I do mind people telling me I am fat. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |28 |I feel bad talking to another female with slim body. |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |29 |I feel guilty when I eat too much. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |30 |All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |31 |I take a positive attitude toward myself |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |32 |I have confidence in myself. 1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |33 |At times I think I am no good at all |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | | | | | | | | |34 |I feel that I have a number of good qualities |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | 35. I most frequently obtain information about slimming from the following channel (tick ( one only): ( TV ( Radio ( Newspaper ( Magazine ( Internet ( Others (please specify):____________________ Part III We would like to end with a few demographic questions. Please write down the related information or put a tick ( in the appropriate option. 1 |My age is: ______ years | |2 |My weight is: about ______________ pounds (or ______ kg) | |3 |My height is: about ______feet ______inches (or ______ cm) | |4 |How often do you exercise? ______ times per month | |5 |My marital status is: ( Single ( Married ( Widowed ( Divorced ( Separated | |6 |My monthly inocme is: | | |( Below $5000 ( $5001-$9000 ( $9001-$15000 ( $15001-$25000 ( $25001 or above | |7 |The highest level of education I attained: | |( Primary school or below ( Lower secondary ( Upper secondary ( Matriculation | | |( Certificate/Diploma/Higher Diploma/Associate/Bachelor’s Degree ( Master’s Degree ( Ph. D. | ———————– Thank you very much for your assistance! Hello! I am a student of XX University. I am now conducting a survey about body image among Chinese female adulthood. It is grateful if you could take 5 to 10 minutes to complete this questionnaire. There is no right or wrong answer. Your participa tion is voluntary. The information obtained in this study will be used to prepare a research report and no identifying information will be revealed in the dissemination of the results. Thank you.