The Rise and Fall of Alexandria Essays

The Rise and Fall of Alexandria Essays The Rise and Fall of Alexandria Essay The Rise and Fall of Alexandria Essay How the modern world was actually established is often overlooked and attributed to the powers and domination of Athens and Rome. What authors Justin Pollard and Howard Reid urge readers to understand, however, is the significance that the city of Alexandria had on Western Civilization. Both authors have worked in British and American television, and are accomplished in the film/documentary industry.Reid has also previously written five other books. In their narrative book, The Rise and Fall of Alexandria, they seek to emphasize just how important this little city was to the foundation of the modern world through accounts of history. Alexandria was built on the foundation of knowledge and intellect, with some of the greatest minds in the fields of Philosophy and Astronomy behind the operation. Alexandria was the birthplace of some of history’s most influential people and the ideas that accompanied them.The ideas of these influential people, such as Herophilus and his discovery of the human organs, and Aristarchus with his idea of a heliocentric universe, have been carried down for centuries and will never be forgotten. Alexandria was home to the incredible library and museum where some of the world’s greatest thinkers pondered and hypothesized the abstracts and ideas that were foreign to their time. Along with all of these historical facts about Alexandria, the city also houses one of the Seven Wonders of the World- the magnificent lighthouse, the Pharos.Alexandria, one of the most influential cities in the foundation of the modern world and a city whose â€Å"unique soul† (p. 1) has been overlooked by history. But, through The Rise and Fall of Alexandria, readers are able to experience the climb to knowledge and intellect, as well as the rise and fall of this â€Å"most extraordinary city on earth† (p. 176). Alexander founded the city of Alexandria in 331 BC. Alexandria was in a prime location for a provincial capital with its †Å"access to Egypt’s wealth and connections on to the Red Sea† (p. 7). He wanted Egypt as part of his growing empire.Not long after in 323 BC, however, Alexander died and left this newly established city to his half brother and baby son. Alexander’s childhood friend, Ptolemy, soon came to rule over the city and Alexandria began rising. Ptolemy had plans for the city and began building innovative roads and two sea harbors. With these new developments, authors note, the â€Å"fundamental plan of the greatest city in the ancient world was complete. † Houses, slaves, cattle, and taxpayers were being taken from surrounding villages and given to the capital city of Alexandria.When Ptolemy’s son and successor (Ptolemy II) began his rule on the city, he, too, threw himself into developing Alexandria and created a currency that could be used to sell and trade. Structures were built, such as temples and the lighthouse, and Alexandria was becoming known as â₠¬Å"the light of the world† (p. 92). Along with the furthering of physical growth to the city of Alexandria, there was also growth politically and religiously. Ptolemy wished to fuse ancient thinking with the modern thinking of the Greeks, so he devised a plan and created a cult through a fusion of two gods: the god of the dead and the living bull.And this Greco-Egyptian cult was created and called Serapis. Through this newly founded religion and the constant furthering of the city’s buildings and technology, Alexandria began to rise. One of the main and most important themes found in the history of Alexandria is how much the city and that period in time contributed to the knowledge of the world. Some of the most brilliant people influenced that particular time, including the great philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as well as others such as Euclid of Alexandria, Herophilus, Aristarchus, and Eratosthenes.Alexandria was rich in knowledge because of the great mi nds that utilized and contributed to the city’s institutions, such as the library and the lighthouse, to hypothesize theories and concepts. For example, Eratosthenes observed ships on the horizon from atop the lighthouse in Alexandria and eventually was the first to compass the world and describe the globe. Aristotle, being the private tutor of Alexander, could be credited for laying the intellectual foundation for the city of Alexandria. He, too, contributed to the Library of the city.Behind the brilliance of Aristotle, one can find the influences of the great philosophers that preceded him: Socrates and Plato. Because of its saturation of intellects and the availability of resources (the library and museum), Alexandria was a city thriving with knowledge and new schools of thought. Alexandria was the birthplace of the modern world, â€Å"not led by legions of soldiers, but by dynasties of scholars navigating on a sea of books† (p. 1). Alexander was considered to be a living god by the Egyptians for over 3,000 years, but the Greeks, however, did not so easily accept this notion.At the death of Alexander, dispute over who should rule over the largest empire on earth was in play. Finally, Alexander’s childhood friend, Ptolemy who looked like an Egyptian and spoke like a Greek, became Pharaoh. The reign of Ptolemy, including his heirs, was one that lasted for five generations. As even the beginning of the Alexandria Empire showed a trend of a constant power struggle among kings and pharaohs, so it continued this way until its fall. With rulers coming in and out of power, Alexandria was under a constant power struggle.Since Alexander’s death, â€Å"the eastern Mediterranean had been involved in an almost continuous struggle among the descendants of his heirs for control over† Alexandria (p. 156). A power that was becoming stronger and more threatening was that of Rome. Whether it was the grain that attracted the Romans to Alexand ria, or the hunger for a place in history with the greatest conqueror, Alexander, the Romans were drawn to Alexandria. While under the rule of Cleopatra, the city of Alexandria was invaded by the Romans and the city was set in flames.The great Library of Alexandria lost some 4,000 papyrus scrolls, which although was not the end of the library, was the symbol of the city falling as the heart of it had been burned. In the spring of 30 BC, Alexandria was again invaded by Octavian and his army, and on August 1, â€Å"the Ptolemaic kingdom came to an end† (p. 172). Alexandria became a city in which it was dangerous to express one’s religious beliefs or opinions. In the middle of this dangerous time, the last scientist who worked in the library was a woman named Hypatia.The fact that she was a woman and that she was friends with the Roman governor made the Archbishop of Alexandria, Cyril, hate her. Hypatia was killed, and soon after, the Library was destroyed. The heart and mind, the central being, the core of Alexandria was destroyed with the Library, and â€Å"with the death of Hypatia, her city also began to die (p. 280). The streets were filled with religious extremism and violence and with ethnic tension; the customs were changing and even the language was transforming as influenced by the Egyptians (p. 80). Eventually the great city of Alexandria was torn down by the Muslim general and the place that had once flourished with civilization and knowledge became nothing but ruins covered in flour and grain- and so was the fall of Alexandria. Alexandria was a city that started out strong and promising, with its dedicated rulers and the plans they had to nurture and expand the empire. It was the center of knowledge and wisdom, a magnet for those with great minds and ideas about the world.The heart of the city was its beloved library. Intellects swarmed this great city to teach, to learn, to ponder, and to discover. Aristarchus â€Å"put the earth in heavens in motion† (p. 108) when he proposed a model of the solar system; Eratosthenes found the solution to the â€Å"Delian Problem† (p. 122); Archimedes figured out how to calculate the volume of a sphere: all these discoveries out of the city in Egypt. As I read through this book, I felt as though I was in the middle of it all.It felt like I was watching the birth of a baby as the city was founded, the hard life of growing up as the city underwent so many changes, and eventually the death of a legacy as the city was torn down. The city of Alexandria served its purpose of facilitating the minds of philosophical geniuses and an important chunk of history in our world. Through this book, Justin Pollard and Howard Reid were able to bring to life a long-lost empire that rose and fell, but will never be forgotten. Pollard, Justin and Howard Reid. The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World. New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

How to Determine Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years

How to Determine Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years Have you ever been in an interview, or an annual performance review, and found yourself a little stymied by the very simple question, â€Å"where do you see yourself in 5 years?† It’s a question right out of the Interviewing 101 handbook, and the asker is probably more interested in making sure that your answer isn’t â€Å"following Phish around the country† than in hearing the nitty-gritty of your next 10  career steps. But that doesn’t make it any easier to answer, if you haven’t put much thought or energy beyond your next step. And it also doesn’t mean you should phone it in. 1. Why Have a Career Plan?2.  Okay, I Need a Plan- Now What?3. How Do I Figure Out What I Want to Do?4. Setting Your Goals5.  How Do I Come Up With a Strategy?6.  Be Ready to ReviseWhy Have a Career Plan?Even if you haven’t been called out on your long-term career plans directly, it’s an exercise worth doing for your own sake. What do you want out of your career? It can be so easy to get caught up in what’s happening now, or what’s happening immediately next. If you don’t have a career plan, no one’s going to blackball you as a slacker. Still, here are five irrefutable (okay, not easy to refute) reasons you should consider making a career plan for yourself.1. It gives you a foundation for your career.It’s good to have a base to come back to- a sense of what your purpose is. Coming up with a career plan lets you put specific goals around ones that might be a little on the vague side. â€Å"Become a manager† or â€Å"get promoted to VP† are great goals, but they’re short on specifics. The career plan can help you figure out the milestones you need to hit in the interim. This is especially true if you’re looking for a job, or are trying to break into a particular field. Knowing what you want ahead of time can help you figure out what the best opportunities a re.2. It’s not set in stone.A career plan can seem like a commitment, especially if you’re relatively new to your field. But this isn’t about putting a ring on it for good- it’s about sketching out your preferred outcomes, so that you can make your current and near-future actions more productive. You can change it up later, if you decide this career isn’t for you after all, or you want to take a totally different approach.3. Strategy puts you in more control of your own success. If you have an upcoming fantasy football draft, or you’re into hunting Pokemon, these hobbies have something in common: you have a strategy for success. Maybe you’ve obsessed over stats, injury reports, and sports gossip sites checking to see if that quarterback is going to bounce back from his rehab stint. Or you got a hot tip about where that rare Flareon is hanging out, and you want to figure out the best time to go hunting. Either way, you’re making a plan for success. Think of yourself as the general here. Are you guaranteed a specific outcome? Nope. But does your plan give you better odds of succeeding than wandering (or drafting) aimlessly would? Absolutely.4. You’ll learn more about yourself.Your values and priorities change over time- so assumptions and decisions you made way back when might not even be close to accurate anymore. If you put in the time to take stock of where you are now and where you truly want to go, it puts you in touch with your current self, rather than the self who was making career decisions years ago.5. All the cool kids are doing it.That reason never stops being valid, right?Okay, I Need a Plan- Now What?Here’s where the great idea of planning your career starts getting down and dirty- you need to start doing the actual work. According to Quora, this process can be broken down into a series of steps:Step 1: Conduct a self-assessment.What do you value most? What are your strengths and weaknesses as an employee? What skills and experience do you bring to the table?Step 2: Decide your career options based on the interests and strengths from that self-assessment.Once you have that snapshot of you as a professional person, the next part is hard: finding jobs that line up with your wants and needs. (More on that below.)Step 3: Name your career goals.What do you want to achieve at different points throughout your career? What about six months from now, a year from now, two years from now? You can spin this out as long as you want. (Bonus points if you pass Go.)Step 4: Develop your career strategy. How do you get to those goals? What smaller goals do you need to hit in the meantime to reach those larger ones?Step 5: Review and adjust that strategy as necessary.How does your career outlook change as your life changes? Remember, this is not a one-and-done exercise- you can change it as much as you want.How Do I Figure Out What I Want to Do?Some careers have very specific milestones, if The Sims taught me anything. For example, if you want to become a tenured teacher, first you have to get your degree, be a student teacher, possibly get your Master’s, get certified/licensed, and find a full-time teaching job. That’s pretty straightforward. If your goal is to be a VP of marketing somewhere, it’s less straightforward. Which industry are you marketing in? There may not be a direct line in your field, but rather a ladder of experience that you can gather from different places. If you know what you want to do but are a little unclear on the steps to get there, then internet searches are your best friend. Look for professionalRemember: Passion is Not a PlanWhen you’re making your plan (or even figuring out how to start), it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need to use this planning process as an altar to your professional passion.Terri Trespicio, a branding strategist and life coach, talks about rejectin g the idea that you have one passion job or career in your life. Your career plan doesn’t have to be a tunnel vision view of your abiding passion in life- it can be as simple as an outline of the kind of experience you want to gain over the next few years. It’s not about limiting yourself to one track, it’s about giving yourself a lifeline you can follow even when things get rough (if you lose your job, if you hate your job, etc.). Think of this as a problem-solving exercise: what problems need to be solved for you to get to the next level?Quiz Your Way to a PlanThe self-assessment may be more than just your strengths and values- it might be even more basic: â€Å"What do I want to do when I grow up?† (If you’re anything like me, you ask yourself that question long after the point when no one would mistake you for not yet grown up.) There are lots of great resources out there that can help you narrow the wide world of careers into a manageable numb er of potential paths for yourself. These are tests, quizzes, and surveys online that you can do at your leisure, and not only offer insight, but recommendations on what you can do with your newfound (or newly confirmed) info.The Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorTruityPymetricsThe Johnson-O’Connor Career Aptitude TestThe MAPP Career Assessment TestThe O*Net Interest Profiler These resources (some free, some premium) can help you get a better snapshot of what you’re well-suited to do. The soul-searching about values and priorities has to come from within, but you can definitely get some outside help on how to translate your skills and abilities into a fulfilling career path, and a set of goals you can meet along the way.Setting Your GoalsAfter you figure out your strengths and what you’d like to do (in general), the next step is figuring out your goals. When you’re thinking about these goals, they should be:SpecificMeasurableAchievableRelevantTime-bound If you m ake your goals as specific and reasonable, and put a schedule around it (approximate is fine), you’re more likely to hit them. Goals that are vague or too difficult will quickly get left behind as you concentrate on other things.How Do I Come Up With a Strategy?The strategic plan is the result of that round of asking yourself questions (or using one of the online self-assessments as an oracle). And it involves†¦more questions.What additional skills/experience do I need to hit my goals?What kind of network will I need?What jobs or companies would help me achieve those goals?What weaknesses can I fix to meet these goals?What kind of experience would be most helpful to me?But at this point, your questions are getting more refined, and more centered around what you want to be doing. You’re ready to start writing down milestones (goals) and a few bullet points for each that provide more information.Be Ready to ReviseRemember, this plan is not an all-or-nothing document , which shall not be changed. You will change, your circumstances might change, and your field might change. All of the potential for shifts in your plan mean you need to be ready to keep thinking about your career plan, and whether it still works for you. Maybe it’s an annual check-in with yourself, with a yearly reminder set for a quiet Sunday. But once you’ve gotten in touch with where you want to be at various points in your career, it’ll be easier to keep the plan in your mind as you move forward with opportunities and make decisions.

Financial Markets and Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Financial Markets and Risk - Essay Example For investors who are moderate on their risk taking mentality have hybrid products to choose from. This report will deal with various investment products that are provided by financial institutions and the implications of market interest rates on investors and banks. Long term savings and investment products provided by Retail banks and Non Banking Financial Intermediaries or NBFC’s Some of the popular long term investment products provided by retail banks and NBFC’s are as follows. Fixed Deposits: Fixed deposits, as the name signifies, have a fixed tenure during which the investments cannot be withdrawn. Withdrawal is possible in between the tenure, but in such a case the investor will have to forgo certain benefits as early withdrawal charges. Bonds: Bonds are debt instruments that are issued by government or corporate. Bonds are fixed income securities that provide a fixed rate of return over a period of time. As a result, it is less risky too. Debentures: Debentures are similar to bonds in its nature with the only difference being they are issued only by corporations. Debentures provide fixed rate of interest and comes with a lock in period of usually more than 2 years. Mutual Funds: Mutual fund is a collective fund management system in which the amount collected from a large number of investors is invested into certain asset classes based on the nature of the fund. The investors who invest in mutual funds will get units of the fund of which the value depends on the price movement in the assets they are invested in. Pension Funds: A pension fund is a very long term investment product that is intended to give retirement income for the investors. Investors contribute a certain amount on fixed intervals which is accumulated and invested in safe asset classes. These are returned to them at the time of their retirement. Implications of increase in general interest rates on individual savers and investors An increase in the general interest rates wi ll have a considerable impact on the investment portfolio of investors and savers. â€Å"When interest rates are rising, both businesses and consumers will cut back on spending† (Investopedia, 2011). The cut back on spending by customers and businesses will lead to less corporate earnings than before. The poor corporate earnings will cause the stock prices to drop at the overall market. A fall in the stock market will affect all the investment products that have the investment pie in stocks. Investors and individual savers, who have invested directly in the stock markets or invested in the stock markets through mutual funds and other products, will see their corpus going down. A rising interest rate can also affect the investors in terms of the low risky instruments like bonds. The prime relationship to be understood is that there is always an inverse relationship between the interest rates and bond prices. When the market interest rate rises, the bonds with lesser interest r ate than the market rate will turn to be less attractive for the investors. The investors receive interest at a lower rate as compared to what is offered by the market. This will not be a big issue if the investor holds the bond until its maturity. But any plans to sell the bond before the maturity will reap fewer benefits when the market interest rates are higher (Williams, 2009). The investor can definitely hold on to the bonds

Marketing of service ( Capture the Customer Interface ) Essay

Marketing of service ( Capture the Customer Interface ) - Essay Example There are different types of customers in the food industry but the main customers who frequent chili and groceries are those who are looking for Indian foods among other Asian delicacies. This customer base is generally acquainted with the best service delivery that the shop can offer the customers are treated as individuals and all their needs catered according to their preferences. Chili and Olive Groceries does this by making sure the restaurant is never double booked and enough space is available for any extra bookings. The entire service in the store is team managed to make sure the flow of information from the customer is entirely put into consideration for better services that they require. Chili and Olive groceries have redesigned the elements of process, people, productivity, and physical environment to appeal to the customers it serves. This comes as part of the process to create a better communication in the business. The use of social media creates an easier way to locate the restaurant and grocery. This comes easy since Muhammad has put the map on the timeline of the Facebook page plus the page is used as an advertisement medium. It is hard to miss the delicacies the restaurant offers since they are displayed on the wall. To increase productivity the store has employees to assist on anything one need. Customer service has been vamped up to make sure the customer base is satisfied at any given visits. Chili and olive has iconic products that are rare in Canada hence creating a market that is untapped. The restaurant and grocery store is a brand that is visibly appealing to any consumer who never had the Indian and middle eastern food experience. With a variety of specials like biryani, samosas, sheesh khabab, paneer paratha, and other Indian and middle eastern food, the menu in the restaurant is to die for. The product here cater for every needs for the customers be it those who are on the diet and those who are in for a

Defining And Understanding A Formwork System Construction Essay

Defining And Understanding A Formwork System Construction Essay Nowadays, construction industry in Malaysia is a mature industry. The Malaysia construction sector is regarded as a catalyst for growth while its own performance serves as an indicator to the nations economy. It is supported by a fraternity of construction player encompass developers, contractors, building material and equipment, suppliers, manufacturers, financiers, regulators and other in the value chain (Lynda, 2006). Formwork system is defined as the system of support for freshly placed concrete including the mould or sheathing which contacts the concrete as well as supporting members, hardware, and necessary bracing. Formwork system development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the twentieth century. Both designers and builders are aware of the need of construction industry in order to develop creative innovations from traditional method to improve quality and economy in the face of incoming construction industry challenges. Formwork is the largest cost component for a typical multistory reinforced concrete building. It normally cost account around 40% to 60% of the cost of the concrete frame and for approximately 10% of the total building cost. Besides, the demands and requirement of the clients have continued to grow and it is essential to find ways to build faster, cheaper and better quality building. Consequently, cost, productivity and quality of formwork system is variable by the system and material choosing. Therefore, consider as much as issue possible must be done before make the decision of choosing formwork. Definition of Formwork Formwork is a temporary boarding or sheeting erected to contain freshly placed and compacted concrete until it has gained sufficient strength to be self-supporting. The appearance of the finished concrete depends on the face texture and stiffness of the formwork. (Dictionary of Quarrying Terms) Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent moulds into which concrete or similar materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering moulds. (Wiki Answer) Definition of Steel Wall Form System Steel is a material generally hard, strong, durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing between 0.2 and 1.5 percent carbon, often with other constituents such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, tungsten, cobalt, or silicon, depending on the desired alloy properties, and widely used as a structural material. Steel wall form system is one of the Engineered Formwork systems. (Answer.com) This formwork is built out of prefabricated modules with a metal frame (usually steel and aluminum) and covered on the application (concrete) side with material having the wanted surface structure (steel, timber, etc.). The two major advantages of formwork systems, compared to traditional timber formwork, are speed of construction (modular systems clip or screw together quickly) and lower life-cycle costs (barring major force, the frame is almost indestructible, while the covering may have to be replaced after a few or a few dozen uses, depending on the applications). (Nation Master.com) Definition of Conventional Timber formwork Conventional Timber formwork is also as known as Traditional timber formwork. The formwork is built on site out of timber and plywood. It is easy to produce but time-consuming for larger structures, and the timber facing has a relatively short lifespan. It is still used extensively where the labour costs are lower than the costs for procuring re-usable formwork. It is also the most flexible type of formwork, so even where other systems are in use, complicated sections may use it. (Nation Master.com) Background of Research Formwork is the single largest cost component of a concrete buildings structural frame. The cost of formwork exceeds the cost of the concrete or steel, and in some situation the formwork costs more than the concrete and steel combined. (Robert Leroy Peurifoy, Garold D. Oberlender, 1996) For some structures, deciding the priority of the formwork design allow to reduce the total frame costs by as much as 25%. This reduction involved direct cost and indirect cost. Formwork is one of the main components in a project, it efficiencies in accelerate the construction schedule in order to reduce interest cost, labour cost, machinery cost and etc during construction and early complete for the project. (Formwork for Structure, 1996) Formwork can be categorized into two types, which are conventional timber formwork and system formwork. Conventional timber formwork is the most common type of formwork, local contractors are already familiar and get used with this method. System formwork is a new technology which introduced by Industrialized Building Systems. Based on lack of knowledge on this technology, local contractor still refused to apply this method in project broadly. The main reason they refused to applied this technology is cost of conventional formwork is much lower than IBS or the technology of it. Justification of Research Presently, high rise building project is increasing in Malaysia. It consider as the main trends in Malaysias development policy. Steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork both is the main method to construct a building. The contribution of this research will be explorer and analyzed in order to allow provided information to allow contractor in placing formwork design. Problems Statement Adapting the usage of Industry Building Systems in the construction of high rise building had significantly giving advantages in various aspects, such as reducing the construction cost, speed of construction, minimizing manpower, environmentally friendly, improved site safety and better quality construction (Shaari 2004). In order to obtain the advantages of IBS, during pre-planning stage, contractor has to decide which type of formwork is most suitable to be use in the project before contractor tender the project. For a consultant, he must have well sensed in selecting the suitable formwork system to satisfy clients requirement. Therefore, this dissertation will suggest and provide a detail of comparison of costing and productivity between steel shear wall form and conventional timber formwork for high rise building to contractor and consultant. Consequently, they are able to choose suitable formwork system instead of increase quality and productivity of work, and save time and cost in the same time. Objectives of Study The aim of this research is to compare and find out whether steel wall form system or conventional timber formwork is more suitable in high rise residential building construction. The specific objectives were: To analyze and cost and labor force required for both types of formwork system. To define and study productivity of steel wall form and conventional timber formwork. To study into different quality outcome from the both formwork system. To compare of costing and productivity between steel wall form and conventional timber formwork. Scope of Project This research will focus on the local projects that are using steel shear wall form and traditional formwork system. The study is limited to high-rise residential building construction. Site visit to the high rise residential building project will be carry out in this research. One project will be sampled for this research with two different of formwork system for wall only. Research Methodology Desk Study The data, information and reference materials will be collected through reference books, journals, magazines, newspaper and etc will be major tunnels for me to gather information for my research title. Initial study is carried out by comprehensive review on the literature on all the resources, to gain the basic understanding and ground theory on the relevant topics and area, which then be used in generating useful information and data. Internet Research Internet is a major tool to allow me finds out the information about steel shear wall form and traditional timber formwork. It also enables me to get the latest information which is related with my dissertation. Site Visit Throughout site visit, it allow me to understand the method of the construction in apply both different types of formwork in detail. Interview will be carrying out during the construction site visit. The people to be interview included contractors and other relevant party. Case study Case study about steel and timber formwork system used in high rise residential construction will be carried out. Interview will be carried out during the construction site visit. The people to be interview included contractor, project managers and other relevant party. Chapter Organization Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter has been a general introduction to dissertation research and outlines the main aims and objectives of this dissertation. It also consists of clarity of problem statement and justification of the research before to start this research. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter explains and describes the characteristic and the usage for the steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork. It wills emphasis in the usage of both type of formwork in local high rise residential building construction. Besides, this chapter is going to introduces steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork in costing, productivity, quality, advantages and disadvantages. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This chapter will explain the process of the whole dissertation and the type of research Methodology. The method of collect data, information and analysis will be explained in this chapter Chapter 4: Data Collection This chapter will be completed by carried out one case study in order to understand in more detail of the steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork. Besides, a structured interview is conducted for analysis. Data and photographs will be show as an evidence for case studies. Chapter 5: Data analysis This chapter carries out analysis and discussion of the data collected from the interviewer and case study. The data analysis will included cost analysis, productivity analysis, quality analysis and manpower analysis. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter includes the objectives review of this dissertation. All the studies on this dissertation will be concluded in this chapter too. There will be further recommendation of this A Study on Cost, Productivity and Quality Comparison of Using Steel Wall Form System and Conventional Timber Formwork in Residential High Rise Building.

Historical Background of Victimology Essay

I. Introduction The nature and extent of victimization is not adequately understood across the world. Millions of people throughout the world suffer harm as a result of crime, the abuse of power, terrorism and other stark misfortunes. Their rights and needs as victims of this harm have not been adequately recognized. The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power in 1985. This provides a universal benchmark by which progress can be assessed in meeting the needs of victims of crime and abuse of power. Much progress has been made since 1985 primarily by governments in Western Europe, North America and elsewhere. They have implemented programmes and laws to give effect to those basic principles but even in affluent countries much work remains. Additional resources are needed everywhere especially for countries that are developing and in transition. The convention on transnational organized crime includes a specific section to protect the rights of victims as does the optional protocol on trafficking. By June, 2005, 99 nations had already ratified the Statute of Rome that establishes a permanent International Criminal Court which gives effect to the principles in the Declaration. The rights of the victims of crime and abuse of power are still not adequately recognized in any part of the world. Their families, witnesses and others, who aid them, are still unjustly subjected to loss, damage or injury. They too often suffer hardship when assisting in the prosecution of offenders. The recent UN Congress in Bangkok also drew attention to the victims of terrorism. Victims of stark misfortunes such as natural disasters, accidents and diseases share similar trauma, loss and suffering. Services to meet the needs of victims have much in common between victims of crime, abuse of power and stark misfortunes. Action must be taken to advance research, services and awareness for victims across the world. This requires persons committed to these ideals, better services, more research, innovative education and training and continued advocacy and rights. It requires a process of assessing progress and acting to make the necessary improvements. II. DISCUSSION I. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF VICTIMOLOGY A. The Early Roots The word â€Å"victim† has its roots in many ancient languages that covered a great distance from northwestern Europe to the southern tip of Asia and yet had a similar linguistic pattern: victima in Latin; và ­h, wà ©oh, wà ­g in Old European; wà ­h, wà ­hi in Old High German; và © in Old Norse; weihs in Gothic; and, vinak ti in Sanskrit (Webster’s 1971). Victimology as an academic term contains two elements: †¢ One is the Latin word â€Å"Victima† which translates into â€Å"victim†. †¢ The other is the Greek word â€Å"logos† which means a system of knowledge, the direction of something abstract, the direction of teaching, science, and a discipline. Although writings about the victim appeared in many early works by such criminologists as Beccaria (1764), Lombroso (1876), Ferri (1892), Garà ³falo (1885), Sutherland (1924), Hentig (1948), Nagel (1949), Ellenberger (1955), Wolfgang (1958) and Schafer (1968), the concept of a science to study victims and the word â€Å"victimology† had its origin with the early writings of Beniamin Mendelsohn (1937; 1940), these leading to his seminal work where he actually proposed the term â€Å"victimology† in his article â€Å"A New Branch of Bio-Psycho-Social Science, Victimology† (1956). It was in this article that he suggested the establishment of an international society of victimology which has come to fruition with the creation of the World Society of Victimology, the establishment of a number of victimological institutes (including the creation in Japan of the Tokiwa International Victimology Institute); and, the establishment of international journals which are now also a part of this institute. Mendelsohn provided us with his victimology vision and blueprint; and, as his disciples we have followed his guidance. We now refer to Mendelsohn as â€Å"The Father of Victimology†. B. Critical Dates in Victimology †¢ 1924 Edwin Sutherland includes a chapter on victims in his criminology textbook. †¢ 1937 Beniamin Mendelsohn publishes his writings on the rapist and his victim. †¢ 1941 Hans von Hentig publishes article on victim and criminal interactions. †¢ 1947 Beniamin Mendelsohn coins the term â€Å"victimology† in a French journal. †¢ 1948 Hans von Hentig publishes his book The Criminal and His Victim. †¢ 1949 Frederic Wertham first used the word â€Å"victimology† in a book Show of Violence. †¢ 1957 Margery Fry proposes victim compensation in the London Times. †¢ 1958 Marvin Wolfgang studies homicide victims; uses the term â€Å"victim precipitation†. †¢ 1963 New Zealand enacts the first Criminal Compensation Act. †¢ 1965 California is the first state in the USA to start Victim Compensation. †¢ 1966 Japan enacts Criminal Indemnity Law. †¢ 1966 USA starts to survey crime victims not reported to the police †¢ 1967 Canada creates a Criminal Compensation Injuries Act as does Cuba and Switzerland. †¢ 1968 Stephan Schafer writes the first victimology textbook The Victim and His Criminal. †¢ 1972 The first three victim assistance programmes are created in St. Louis, Missouri, San Francisco, California and in Washington, D. C. †¢ 1973 the first international symposium on victimology is held in Jerusalem, Israel. †¢ 1974 the first police-based victim advocate project started in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. †¢ 1975 The first â€Å"Victim Rights’ Week† is organized by the Philadelphia District Attorney, * Associate Professor, Criminology Department, California State University, Fresno; Director, Tokiwa International Victimology Institute, Tokiwa University Victimology Graduate School, Japan. Pennsylvania, USA. †¢ 1976 John Dussich launches the National Organization of Vi ctim Assistance (NOVA) in Fresno, California, USA. †¢ 1976 Emilio Viano launches the first scholarly journal devoted to victimology. †¢ 1976 James Rowland creates the first Victim Impact Statement in Fresno, California, USA. †¢ 1979 The World Society of Victimology is founded in Munster, Germany. †¢ 1980 Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) is founded by Candi Lightner after one of her twin daughters was killed by a drunk driver who was a repeat offender. †¢ 1981 President Ronald Reagan proclaims the first national Victims’ Rights Week in April. †¢ 1982 the first Victim Impact Panel established by MADD to educate drunk drivers about how their victims suffered, started in Rutland, Massachusetts, USA. †¢ 1984 The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) establishes the national Crime Victims Fund from federal crime fines to pay for state victim compensation and services. †¢ 1985 The United Nations unanimously adopts the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. †¢ 1987 The US Department of Justice opens the National Victims Resource Centre in Rockville, Maryland. †¢ 1988 The first â€Å"Indian Nations: Justice for Victims of Crime† conference is held by the Office for Victims of Crime in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA. †¢ 1990 The European Forum for Victim Services was founded by all the national organizations in Europe working for victims of crime in consultative status with the Council of Europe and the UN. †¢ 1999 The United Nations and the US Office for Victims of Crime publish the Guide for Policymakers on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power and the Handbook on Justice for Victims: On the Use and Application of the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. †¢ 2002 On 11 April, 66 the Rome Statute was ratified & went into force on 1 July at which time the International Criminal Court became effective and it included the creation of a Victim and Witness Unit. †¢ 2003 On October 2nd the Tokiwa International Victimology Institute, in Mito Japan opened its doors to promote victim rights, to conduct seminars, courses, publish an international journal, and host annual symposia and lectures and research about victimology. †¢ 2004 The World Society of Victimology at its annual Executive Committee meeting in Orlando, Florida adopts a dramatic new strategic plan to commit itself to the ideals and promises of the UN Declaration. †¢ 2005 Japan puts the UN Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power into their national legislation by adopting a new fundamental law for crime victims. To ensure that the principles would be initiated, the Prime Minister established a cabinet level committee. The new law includes services for victims, restitution from the offender, information about criminal justice and a right to formally participate in the criminal justice process. C. Victim Assistance Since the mid 1970s victim assistance programmes in America had to cope with the realization that this new field did not have a professional corps of people with special training in dealing with crime victims. Those who were working in the programmes were a mixture of medical doctors, ministers, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, on-the-job trained counsellors, persons outside the helping professions and volunteers with all levels of training. There were no international or national professional standards. There was no certificate or degree to prepare someone to do the work of helping victims recover. However, before formal victim assistance programmes evolved, there were some people trained to work with victim problems, especially people who had been helping child abuse and family violence victims. These were social workers. Today, the victim services scene has changed. There are a wide array of professionals and non-professionals working with victims. These would include: social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, medical doctors, non-specific professionals (who received their formal degrees in other fields but were trained to help victims in the numerous training schools which are both part and independent of academic settings); and, volunteers (who also received their training in the numerous training schools which are both part and independent of academic settings, many of which are 40 hour training modules offered by the victim service agencies where they work). Today the field of victim assistance is the major career field in victimology for persons wanting to help victims of crime directly. The single largest and oldest university offering a bachelor’s degree in victimology and a victim services certificate is the California State University, Fresno. Worldwide, it can be estimated that there are about 20,000 victim service programmes now operating: reducing suffering and facilitating recovery. II. KEY CONCEPTS IN VICTIMOLOGY A. Concepts 1. â€Å"Victim† has it roots in the early religious notions of suffering, sacrifice and death. This concept of â€Å"victim† was well known in the ancient civilizations, especially in Babylonia, Palestine, Greece, and Rome. In each of these civilizations the law mandated that the victim should be recognized as a person who deserved to be made whole again by the offender. 2. â€Å"Crime victim† is a person who has been physically, financially or emotionally injured and/or had their property taken or damaged by someone committing a crime. 3. â€Å"Victimogenesis† refers to the origin or cause of a victimization; the constellation of variables which caused a victimization to occur. 4. â€Å"Victim Precipitation† a victimization where the victim causes, in part or totally, their own victimization. 5. â€Å"Vulnerability† is a physical, psychological, social, material or financial condition whereby a person or an object has a weakness which could render them a victim if another person or persons would recognize these weaknesses and take advantage of them. 6. â€Å"General Victim† is a person who has been physically, financially or emotionally injured and/or had their property taken or damaged by someone, an event, an organization or a natural phenomenon. 7. â€Å"Victimization† refers to an event where persons, communities and institutions are damaged or injured in a significant way. Those persons who are impacted by persons or events suffer a violation of rights or significant disruption of their well being. 8. â€Å"Victimology† is an academic scientific discipline which studies data that describes phenomena and causal relationships related to victimizations. This includes events leading to the victimization, the victim’s experience, its aftermath and the actions taken by society in response to these victimizations. Therefore, victimology includes the study of the precursors, vulnerabilities, events, impacts, recoveries, and responses by people, organizations and cultures related to victimizations. 9. â€Å"Abuse of Power† is the violation of a national or international standard in the use of organized powerful forces such that persons are injured physically, mentally, emotionally, economically, or in their rights, as a direct and intentional result of the misapplication of these forces. 10. â€Å"Victim Assistance, Support or Services† are those activities which are applied in response to victimizations with the intention of relieving suffering and facilitating recovery. This includes offering information, assessments, individual interventions, case advocacy, system advocacy, public policy and programme development. 11. â€Å"Victim Recovery† is the resumption of the same or better level of functionality as was enjoyed prior to victimization. Persons who have been victimized vary in their level of mental health and wellbeing prior to their victimization. Consequently, victimization affects each person in a different way and causes differing degrees of injury or trauma. In their recovery it is necessary for victims to first try to regain their previous level of functioning plus learn from their misfortune and hopefully exceed their previous level of functionality. To be recovered suggests that a person has at least regained their prior level of well-being and at best, has exceeded it. This state may be measured by identifying their previous mental condition and determining if they have at least regained that prior status using the criteria of: trust in others, autonomy of self, individual initiative, competency in daily activities, self-identity, interpersonal intimacy, control over person al situations, successful relationships, safety in daily activities, acknowledgment of memory, trauma symptoms have become manageable, self esteem is restored, resourcefulness is achieved, and there is an improved ability to ward off potential threats. 12. â€Å"Child Abuse† is the intentional application of sexual, physical, emotional or psychological injury to a child to include neglect at the hands of her or his parents or care-provider within the confines of their family or place of care. 13. â€Å"Victim Offender Mediation† (VOM) is a formal process for face-to-face meetings in the presence of a trained mediator between a victim of a crime and his/her offender who committed that crime. This is also called victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing, victim-offender reconciliation, or restorative justice. Often the victim and the offender are joined by their respective families and community members or other persons related to the crime event. In these meetings, the offender and the victim talk to each other about the victimization, the effects it had on their lives, and their feelings about it. The aim is to create a mutually agreeable plan to repair any damage or injury that occurred as a result of th e crime in the hopes of permanently eliminating the conflict that caused the crime in the first place. 14. â€Å"Restorative Justice† is a systematic formal legal response to crime victimization that emphasizes healing the injuries that resulted from the crime and affected the victims, offenders and communities. This process is a departure from the traditional retributive form of dealing with criminals and victims which traditionally have generally perpetuated the conflict which resulted in the original crime. 15. â€Å"Victim Trauma† includes emotional and physical experiences that produce pain and injuries. Emotional injury is a normal response to an extremely abnormal event. It results from the pairing of a painful or frightening emotional experience with a specific memory which emerge and have a long lasting effect on the life of a person. The more direct the exposure to the traumatic event, the higher the risk for emotional harm and prolonged effects. 16. â€Å"Crisis Intervention† is the provision of emergency psychological care to traumatized victims so as to help them return to an adaptive level of functioning and to prevent or mitigate the negative impact of psychological and emotional trauma. 17. â€Å"Compensation† is a formal administrative procedure provided by law which provides only money to victims for â€Å"out of pocket† real expenses directly resulting from the victimization to be paid by the state after the victim is found to qualify according to specific criteria determined by the respective state or federal law. 18. â€Å"Restitution† is a formal judicial procedure used by a judge after guilt is determined as part of a sentence which can provide money and/or services to the victim for damages or suffering which resulted from the victimization to be paid or performed by the offender. 19. â€Å"Victim Survey† is a periodic data collection and analysis process conducted usually by a government entity within the general population to study information about crime victims regardless whether they reported their victimization to the police or not. It typically uses a face-to-face or telephone interview (or sent questionnaire) and covers demographics, attitudes about crime and details about the victimizations experienced over the previous six months. 20. â€Å"Victim Rights† are privileges and procedures required by written law which guarantee victims specific considerations and treatment by the criminal justice system, the government and the community at large. B. Abuse of Power 1. Background In spite of the legal sanctions which exist throughout the world to prevent the abuse of power (AOP), it continues to occur with growing frequency and relative impunity. There are essentially five considerations to abuse of power: the type of abuser; the specific abuser; the method used; the victims; and the extent of injury and damage. In each of these five considerations there are numerous examples ranging from the Government of South Africa’s use of apartheid on Black South Africans causing extensive death and suffering, to the criminal organization known as the MAFIA which uses racketeering, coercion, intimidation, graft and corruption on innocent citizens causing extensive death, suffering and property loss. The most recent example of AOP is the government of Yugoslavia (now dominated by ethnic Serbs) using extreme forms of aggression, against Croats, Bosnia Muslims, and most recently ethnic Kosovans with: mass killings; mass rapes; extensive destruction of property; buildings, and sacred cultural symbols, for the most part ignoring the protocols found in the Geneva Conventions for the conduct of warfare. This macro criminological/victimological phenomenon has been extensively reported on by the media and by scholars, but predominantly in narrative form. Thus far, very few attempts have been made to isolate the key variables, explain the dynamics of these events and measure their occurrences. 2. Theoretical Problem Like all phenomena, these abuse of power events lend themselves to definitions, theoretical organization and measurement. The magnitude of these occurrences dramatically turn our heads away from the dispassionate evaluation of the facts. The drama of these events is so compelling, even trained theorists put aside their research tools and yield to the subjective descriptions which overwhelm those chronicling these massive abuses. In spite of the strong emotions, the magnitude of the problem calls for careful measurement, analysis and synthesis so that a degree of understanding can emerge. This proposal will consider using the social behavioural and conflict theories familiar to most criminologist who study macro criminological phenomena. III. MEASURING VICTIMIZATION A. The Importance and Limitations of Descriptive Research Descriptive research is primarily concerned with generally characterizing a phenomenon to determine basic information about amount, frequencies and categories of a particular theme. Thus, one of the basic types of data in descriptive research is nominal level data or the counting of â€Å"apples and oranges†. The most important type of victimological descriptive research are victimization surveys. These surveys have thus far become the backbone of victimology information. Not only do these surveys give us the number and types of victims, they also give us trend information so that we can compare victims from one jurisdiction to another, from one type of victim to another, and we can measure the rate of victimization for a given population in a given time period. Another important measurement using survey research is the measurement of behaviours that exist as continua. These types of research give us information about the feelings, opinions and responses the victims have. Thus, they are very important in understanding the impact of victimization and the progress of recovery. 1. The Necessity of Evaluative Research Another important type of research is the evaluative research used to measure the official government or organizational responses to victimization and the programmes used to help victims cope. These types of research are aimed at measuring the systemic aspects of the victim experience. This is usually focused on the â€Å"Twin Criteria of Success†: effectiveness, which evaluates the achievement of programme objectives; and, efficiency which evaluates the consumption of resources over the time needed to achieve objectives. Another aspect of evaluative research is accountability, both economic and political. Economic accountability focuses on whether the existence of a particular programme in a given community is justified given the funds available and the value-system currently in existence. Political accountability focuses on whether the existence of a victim programme and its costs are supported by those in power. A large part of accountability has to do with community values, outcome expectations and official responsibilities. The measurement of these variables helps to socially contextualize a victim programme or response within the larger society or culture. 2. Explaining the Victimization with Causal Research Perhaps the most challenging and difficult form of victimological research is causal research. This research attempts to explain why and how some variables are effected by other variables in those phenomena dealing with victims. For example, it might try to understand why some victims are severely traumatized by an event, while other victims are not seriously impacted by the same event. The usual method of this form of research is to first create hypotheses about the relationships between cause variables and effect variables. Then, to measure these variables and see if the data can support the hypotheses. Ultimately, this process can lead to understanding not just one casual link, but many connected causal links, or a causal chain. A victimologist can then develop a theoretical statement with the new facts uncovered using causal research. These theoretical statements help to understand complex social and psychological victim phenomenon. Consequently persons working to prevent victimization could have empirically derived facts so as to reduce the vulnerability of potential victims. Crisis interveners could effectively reduce the suffering of victims immediately after the victimization and prevent the escalation of trauma. Advocates and therapists, basing their response on protocol analysis, could better know what works to facilitate victim recovery and reduce or eliminate long-term suffering and promote the return to stable and functional lives for those victimized. IV. THE FUTURE OF VICTIMOLOGY A. Promising Practices As new programmes and new laws evolve some prove effective and others not. In the search for programmes and laws that fulfil the fundamental aims of the United National Declaration, â€Å"to be treated with compassion and respect for their dignity, to be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and to prompt redress to be informed of their rights, to be informed of their role and the scope, timing and progress of the proceedings and of the disposition of their case, to be provided with proper assistance throughout the legal process, to have their privacy protected and insure their safety, to be considered for receipt of restitution, to be informed about receiving compensation.† These criteria determine the value of programmes and laws so that they can be evaluated and ultimately recommended as worthy of duplication. In each of the sub-categories of victim programmes, laws, practices and rights, specific examples have become known. Some of these are listed below (from the New Directions from the Field: Victims’ Rights and Services for the 21st Century, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998). 1. Law Enforcement †¢ In San Diego, California there is a partnership between the police and the YWCA which resulted in a Community Domestic Violence Resource Network. This has resulted in a major resource for all the police agencies in the community for accurate information about the availability of shelters at any given time. †¢ In Provo, Utah victims participate in crime solving, called â€Å"victim-assisted† investigations. †¢ In Orange County, California a group of five victim advocates working together in a non-profit programme work with police and prosecutors to ensure comprehensive services for victims of gang violence. 2. Prosecution †¢ In Kenosha, Wisconsin, a programme established by the district attorney established special prosecution units for domestic violence and sensitive crimes. †¢ In Pinellas County, Florida, the state’s attorney’s office established a special prosecutor to be responsible for all elder exploitation and neglect cases. This includes police training, community outreach and education for other prosecutors. †¢ In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Victim Services Unit located in the District Attorney’s Office, employs Vietnamese and Cambodian victim-witness coordinators to assist victims from Southeast Asia throughout their case process, including translating information and helping victims with emergency medical and financial assistance. 3. Judiciary †¢ In Tucson, Arizona, the Municipal Court established a partnership with the police, victim advocates, prosecutors and health care professionals to form a Community Domestic Violence Awareness Centre. †¢ In New York State, the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children was established to provide assistance to children in the courts so as to provide a special space for child care so that those children whose parents are in court have a safe haven during their stay. †¢ In Santa Clara County, California, the courts have established local family violence councils to provide a comprehensive response to domestic violence. 4. Corrections †¢ In Texas, the Department of Criminal Justice started a victim-offender mediation/dialogue programme for victims of severe violence and their incarcerated offenders. †¢ In California one of the best known victim-offender programmes is the Impact of Crime on Victims (IOC) initiated by the California Youth Authority. This programme is aimed at providing 40 hours of education to inform offenders about how crimes affect victims and society. †¢ The US Federal Bureau of Prisons piloted victim awareness classes on drug and domestic violence crimes for offenders in halfway houses in Baltimore, Maryland, and Tampa, Florida. B. Reality of Promising Practices Although a wide variety of new programmes have been tried and dubbed as â€Å"promising† most of these have not been subjected to any form of empirical evaluation. Before these programme can be accepted as worthy of duplication, they must be carefully scrutinized over a sufficient time period. V. Demographic Characteristics The risk of becoming a crime victim varies as a function of demographic variables such as: †¢ Gender †¢ Age †¢ Race †¢ Socioeconomic class Gender With the exception of sexual assault and domestic violence, men have higher risk of assault than women (Gelles & Straus, 1988; Hanson et al., 1993; Norris, 1992). Lifetime risk of homicide is three to four times higher for men than women (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1992). Age Adolescents have substantially higher rates of assault than young adults or older Americans (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1992; Hanson et al., 1993; Kilpatrick, Edmunds & Seymour, 1992; Kilpatrick et al., in press; Reiss & Roth, 1993; Whitaker & Bastian, 1991). Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey indicate that 12-to-19 year olds are two to three times as likely as those over 20 to become victims of personal crime each year (Whitaker & Bastian, 1991). Data from The National Women’s Study indicate that 62% of all forcible rape cases occurred when the victim was under 18 years of age (Kilpatrick et al., 1992). Race Racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of assault than other Americans (FBI Uniform Crime Report, 1992; Hanson et al., 1993; Kilpatrick et al., 1991; Reiss & Roth, 1993). In 1990, African-Americans were six times more likely than white Americans to be homicide victims (FBI Uniform Crime Report, 1992). Rates of violent assault are approximately twice as high for African- and Hispanic-Americans compared to White Americans (Reiss & Roth, 1993). Kilpatrick et al. (1991) found that African-Americans (28%) and Hispanic-Americans (30%) were significantly more likely than White Americans (19%) to have ever been violent victims of crime. Socioeconomic Class Violence disproportionately affects those from lower socioeconomic classes (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1991). Family income is related to rates of violence and victimization, with lower income families at a higher risk than those from higher income brackets (Reiss & Roth, 1993). †¢ For example, in 1988, the risk of victimization was 2.5 times greater for families with the lowest incomes (under $7,500) compared to those with the highest ($50,000 and over) (Reiss & Roth, 1993). Using longitudinal data from The National Women’s Study, Kilpatrick et al., (in press) found that women with household incomes less than $10,000 had odds 1.8 times greater than those with incomes of $10,000 or more of becoming a rape or aggravated assault victim in the two year follow-up period. Poverty increased the risk of assault even after controlling for the effects of prior victimization and sensation seeking. However, some other studies report that family income is a less important predictor of victimization than gender, age, or ethnicity (Reiss & Roth, 1993). Interpreting Demographic Characteristic Data Some of the conflicting findings about demographic characteristics as risk factors for violent crime are attributable to methodological variations across studies. Another reason for conflicting findings is that many demographic variables are confounded. That is, they are so interrelated as to cause some difficulty in separating out their relative contributions. Demographic variables of age, gender, and racial status all tend to be confounded with income: young people tend to be poorer than older people; women tend to have less income than men; and African-Americans tend to have less income than white Americans. Repeat Victimization and the Cycle of Violence Until recently, there was little appreciation of the extent to which many people are victims of crime not just once, but several times during their lifetime. There was sufficient understanding of how repeated victimization increases the risk for and complexity of crime-related psychological trauma. Nor did we understand the extent to which victimization increases the risk of further victimization and/or of violent behavior by the victim. Several studies show that a substantial proportion of crime victims has been victimized more than once and that a history of victimization increases the risk of subsequent violent assault (e.g. Kilpatrick et al., in press; Koss & Dinero, 1989; Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders & Best, 1993; Kilpatrick et al., 1992; Reiss & Roth, 1993; Wyatt, Guthrie & Notgrass, 1992; Zawitz, 1983). Other research suggests that the risk of developing PTSD and substance use/abuse problems is higher among repeat victims of violent assault than among those who have experienced only one violent assault (e.g., Kilpatrick et al., in press; Breslau et al., in press; Kilpatrick, Resnick, Saunders, Best & Epstein, 1994). Still other evidence suggests that youth victimization history increases risk of involvement with delinquent peers and of subsequent delinquent behavior (Ageton, 1983; Dembo et al., 1992; Straus, 1984; Widom, 1989, 1992). Some research shows that involvement with delinquent or deviant peers increases the risk of victimization (e.g., Ageton, 1983), and that substance use also increases risk of victimization (e.g., Kilpatrick et al., 1994; Cottler, Compton, Mager, Spitznagel, and Janca, 1992). Another line of research has found that a history of child abuse and neglect increases risk of delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence and of being arrested for violent assault as an adult (e.g., Widom, 1989, 1994). This new knowledge about repeat victimization and the cycle of violence has several implications for appropriate mental health counseling for crime victims: †¢ Mental health professionals should include crime prevention and substance abuse prevention in their work with victims to decrease the risk that new victimization or substance abuse problems will occur (e.g., Kilpatrick et al., in press; Kilpatrick et al., 1994). †¢ Mental health professionals should not assume that the crime they are treating is the only one the victim has experienced. This requires taking a careful crime victimization history. †¢ Providing effective mental health counseling to victims may well be an effective way to reduce the risk of future victimization, substance use /abuse, delinquency and violent behavior. Residential Location Where an individual lives influences one’s risk of becoming a violent crime victim. Reiss and Roth (1993) report that violent crime rates increased as a function of community size. For example, the violent crime rate was 359 per 100,000 residents in cities of less than 10,000; but 2,243 per 100,000 in cities with populations over a million translates to rates seven times greater. (Reiss & Roth, 1993; p. 79). Data including non-reported crimes from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) also indicate that violent crime rates are highest in central cities, somewhat lower in suburban areas, and lowest in rural areas (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1992). The UCR and the NCVS are better at measuring street crime than at measuring violent crimes perpetrated by acquaintances or partners. Thus, the assumption that the increased risk of violent assault associated with residential location most likely results from stranger attacks, not necessarily from attacks by family members or other intimates, is a function of the limits of the measurement device. Exposure to Potential Assailants No violent assault can occur unless an assailant has access to a potential victim. Someone could have every previously discussed risk factor for violent assault and be completely safe from assault unless approached by an assailant. A prominent theory attempting to predict risk of criminal victimization is the routine activities theory. As described by Laub (1990), the risk of victimization is related to a person’s lifestyle, behavior, and routine activities. In turn, lifestyles and routine activities are generally related to demographic characteristics (e.g., age and marital status) and other personal characteristics. If a person’s lifestyle or routine activities places him or her in frequent contact with potential assailants, then they are more likely to be assaulted than if their routine activities and lifestyle do not bring them into as frequent contact with predatory individuals. For example, young men have higher rates of assaultive behavior than any other age-gend er group (Reiss & Roth, 1993; Rosenberg & Mercy, 1991). Thus, those whose routine activities or lifestyles involve considerable contact with young men should have higher rates of victimization. Likewise, people who are married, who never leave their houses after dark, and who never take public transportation should have limited contact with young men, and therefore have reduced risk of assault. Although some have argued that routine activities theory has substantial support in the empirical literature (Laub, 1990; Gottfredson, 1981), most of the crime victimization data that are used to evaluate assault risk measure stranger assaults much better than partner or acquaintance assaults. Thus, the theory is probably much more relevant to stranger assaults than to other assaults. VI. Conclusion and Recommendation Crime-related psychological trauma impairs the ability and/or willingness of many crime victims to cooperate with the criminal justice system. Many argued that victims must be treated better by the criminal justice system because it cannot accomplish its mission without the cooperation of victims. At every key stage of the criminal justice system process–from contemplating making a report to police, to attending a parole hearing–interactions can be stressful for victims and often exacerbates crime-related psychological trauma. Victims whose crime-related fear makes them reluctant to report crimes to police or who are too terrified to testify, effectively make it impossible for the criminal justice system to accomplish its mission. Thus, it is important to understand: †¢ Victims’ crime-related mental health problems. †¢ What aspects of the criminal justice system process are stressful to victims. †¢ What can be done to help victims with their crime-related mental health problems. †¢ What can be done to help victims cope with criminal justice system-related stress. Effective partnerships among the criminal justice system, victim assistance personnel, and trained mental health professionals can help victims with crime-related psychological trauma and with criminal justice system-related stress. By helping victims through such partnerships, the criminal justice system also helps itself become more effective in curbing and reducing crime. Several factors in the application of different conditioning principles to victims’ interactions with the criminal justice system helps us understand why the criminal justice system is so stressful for many victims. First, involvement with the criminal justice system requires crime victims to encounter many cognitive and environmental stimuli that remind them of the crime. These range from: †¢ Having to look at the defendant in the courtroom. †¢ Having to think about details of the crime when preparing to testify. †¢ Confronting a member of â€Å"second-order conditioned stimuli† in the form of police, victim/witness advocates, and prosecutors. Second, encountering all these crime-related conditioned stimuli often results in avoidance behavior on the part of the victims. †¢ Such avoidance behavior is generated by conditioned fear and anxiety, not by apathy. Avoidance can lead victims to cancel or not show up for appointments with criminal justice system officers, or victim advocates. Aside from conditioning, there are several other reasons that interacting with the criminal justice system can be stressful for victims. †¢ One reason interactions are stressful is because victims lack information about that system and its procedures, and victims fear the unknown. †¢ A second reason interactions are stressful is that victims are concerned about whether they will be believed and taken seriously by the criminal justice system. Most victims view the criminal justice system as representative of society as a whole, and whether they are believed and taken seriously by the system indicates to them whether they are believed and taken seriously by society. VI. Bibliography 1. (Bachman, 1994; Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1992; FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992; Hanson, Freedy, Kilpatrick, and Saunders, 1993; Kilpatrick, Seymour & Boyle, 1991; Breslau, Davis, Andreski, and Peterson, 1991; Kilpatrick , Resnick, Saunders, and Best, in press; Norris, 1992; Adler et al., 1994; Reiss & Roth, 1993; Rosenberg & Mercy, 1991). 2. Dussich, John and Kiyoko Kishimoto. 2000. â€Å"Victim Assistance in Japan: History, Culture and Programmes.† In Paul C. Friday and Gerd Ferdinand Kirchhoff (editors) Victimology at the Transition: From the 20th to the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of Hans Joachim Schneider. M nchengladbach, Germany: Shaker Verlag. 3. Schafer, Stephen. 1968. The Victim and His Criminal. New York: Random House. 4. www.wikipedia.com 5. www.google.com.ph â€Å"Victimology†

The Slavery Of African Contingents - 874 Words

â€Å"During the 1960s, some black leaders revived the idea of reparations. In 1969, James Forman proclaimed a Black Manifesto. It demanded $500 million from American churches and synagogues for their role in perpetuating slavery before the Civil War.†(William Reed) This argument has been demonstrated: a compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in America, because their ancestors had performed the tedious labor over past few hundred years ago. However, it is clearly that the idea remains highly controversial. Looking at the historical evidence that have been presented, now we can analysis the historical events that were actually contributed to the slavery of African contingents. We need to analysis few questions in order to get better understanding of this topic itself. First, Sugar plantations, for instance, the most important crop in the early plantation, had fulfill the demand of Europe’s sweet tooth elites around the Mediterranean. When European merchants began to trade around the Atlantic, they took the plantation model with them and spread them in the Americas. Since these plantations expanded rapidly, other European powers copied these when they had their own colonies in the Americas. For example, Columbus had become one of the major plantation. In the late 18th centuries, Cuba also became major sugar plantations producers. The sugar produced, thus the demand for labor also increased. All planters in Americas, Western Europe and AfricaShow MoreRelatedSlavery And The African Slave Trade1449 Words   |  6 PagesWhen I think of the African slave trade, I realize that over 10 million people were removed from that continent in less than 500 years. Some scholars believe it may be as large a number as 20 million. I would like to pose a few questio ns and attempt to answer them in this collection of writings and opinions. The evidence and historical documents will show some of the economic and social impacts the Slave Trade had on the African continent. Slavery has been around for the vast majority of human historyRead MoreThe abolition of slavery in Africa and the Middle East Essay1003 Words   |  5 Pagesabolition of slavery in Africa and the Middle East can be seen from different perspectives. One of them, it is from the international pressure to abolish slavery in Africa and Middle East. The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, was one of the most active institutions in looking for suppression of slavery, in India, Africa and the Middle East.2 They pushed to British government to take direct actions in abolish Indian slavery, and indirect actions on non-European regions were slavery was commonRead MoreBlack Subjectivity Debate Essay1156 Words   |  5 Pages| | | REGINALD JONES | 9/30/2010 | | America can never hide its dirty secret, but they will toil continuously to conceal this. Slavery is indeed the most atrocious act in American history. Just stating the facts is horrible, and this so dearly infuriates me to say this, but humans was brutally forced into armadas and compelled to capitulate what little rights of life they actually had. Families were interspersed, religion was lost, native glots were cut, and most importantly theirRead MoreSlavery Is An Important Chapter Of American History910 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery is an important chapter in American history, and its influence can be seen in the roots of our government and laws. Slavery is a prejudice based on race. It is also economic exploitation; the act of forcing other individuals to work for no pay. While slavery was ultimately abolished, restitution in the form of freedom was not compensation enough for the wrongs, nor could it remove the very ideal of slavery from our nation’s foundation. 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