Euglena Gracilis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Euglena Gracilis - Essay Example Euglena Gracilis, the name comes from the Greek words eus and glne, i.e. good eyeball, which refers to the light-sensitive eyespot. Euglena gracilis uses its eyespot to locate light. This is a minute single-celled nutrient-rich freshwater organism of the genus Euglena, having the presence of chlorophyll, a reddish eyespot, and a single anterior flagellum. Euglena gracilis is just one of the many species of Euglena. Euglenas have spindle-shaped bodies, ranging in size from 1/1000 to 1/100 of an inch (0.025 to 0.254 millimeter) long. Most of the species are green in colour as they contain chlorophyll. Euglena produce food through photosynthesis for themselves, and also serve as primary producers for aquatic ecosystems. Some of the species also eat tiny particles of living matter. Euglena are interesting because they are a sort of combination of plant and animal. One the one hand they can make their own food like a plant, but they can also eat other things, like an animal. They can also swim and move. Scientists argued for years about which Kingdom to put them in, Animal or Plant Right now they are in neither; most scientists put them in the Protist Kingdom with other microscopic organisms, such as amoeba and paramecium. Three membranes surround the complex chloroplasts of Euglena. This is unlike chloroplasts of higher plants and most green algae, which are surrounded by two membranes. The additional membranes present a barrier to the import of chloroplast precursor proteins. Traditionally, the genus Euglena has been divided into several groups or subgenera depending mainly on morphological features of the chloroplast and paramylon and on cell rigidity. Euglena Gracilis also has a flagellum, a long hair-like thing, which is used by Euglena to swim. In this experiment we studied the growth of Euglena over a three week period. We took three jars and put the Euglena in each of them. We put rice in one jar and kept it in the dark. So this Euglena got its nutrients solely from the rice. Euglena in another jar was placed in the light with no rice, and this Euglena got its nutrients solely from the light. In the third jar we put rice and also placed this one in the light, so that this Euglena could get nutrients from both light and rice. Each week we checked on the Euglena jars to see which had the greatest exponential growth; From the experiment, we found that the Euglena in the light only did the best (results are summarized in table-1). Table-1: Growth pattern of Euglena over a three week period Jar-1 Euglena with Rice only (growth-cells per field) Jar-2 Euglena with Light only (growth-cells per field) Jar-3 Euglena with Rice and Light (growth-cells per field) Week-1 28 20 40 Week-2 22 31 35 Week-3 24 44 21 Conclusion It is amply clear that Euglena gracilis do behave like plants as well as animals, because when Euglena gracilis doesn't have enough light to make its own food, it looks for other things to eat. In this case rice supported the growth of Euglena. References: 1. Euglena, available online at http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/euglena.htm (Oct 24, 2006). 2. Woongghi Shin and Richard E. Triemer, "Phylogenetic analysis of the genus euglena (euglenophyceae) with particular reference to the type species euglena viridis", 759-770, available online

Global and Corporate Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global and Corporate Strategies - Essay Example These are intended strategies which the management effects though intense, circumspect, deliberate planning, organising and executing, after considering all aspects and after giving these strategies a careful and through study. These strategies are well intentioned and management are well aware, from the initial stages itself, about the objectives these strategies would realise. However, emergent strategies are the realised strategies or the result of completed actions. While deliberate strategies are deliberate and planned, emergent strategies may be accidental and may not be really planned or deliberated. In real terms, deliberateness is the result of planned, well thought out, formulated, deigned, strategised and conceived strategies, while emergence may be in terms of innovative, accidental, spontaneous, instinctive and intuitive planning. In certain cases, management needs to take an immediate and critical decision, regarding clinching a competitive bid, or buying of a new unit. In such cases, strategic planning may not work and it would be necessary to rely on intuition, or instinctive nature of the decision maker. It may be proved correct or wrong at a later stage, or carried out "with practical and ethical difficulties." (Macrae 1998). But the fact remains that it is a spur-of -the movement decision and not one arrived after long, deliberate, and planned sessions. This is because "all corporations experience problems in implementing and using a formal planning system." (Henry 1977, p.40-45). Explanation of both strategies - deliberateness and emergence: Planning is a key aspect in deliberateness. Without planning, the question of strategising does not arise. In order to enforce deliberateness, strategies need to imbue it with time, efforts and mental thoughts. All relevant information are put into the decision theory, the options are weighed and assessed, different alternatives courses are considered, extensive analysis of the situation are considered, and then final deliberativeness are made. Therefore, it could be said that rigidity and lack of flexibility could be a main criteria in deliberateness" that might effectively narrow the gap between what-is and what-ought-to-be." (Eppel). Once strategic plans are drafted and finalised, the options for changes or modifications are minimal. Therefore, it would not be wrong to assume that bureaucratic elements are very much present in deliberateness since the laid out systems are to be maintained and followed. Thus a manager becomes restrained and restricted in his functioning, under the deliberateness strategy, since he has to follow the stipulated guidelines in totality, and flexibility, or innovative thinking may not be possible. However, emergent strategies are highly flexible and accommodating. In the case of any disruption or unthought-of threat, the deliberate strategy may be rendered ineffective, or unusable. Under such circumstances, emergent strategies seek to offer alternative solutions, in terms of unplanned, innovative perceptions that may be able to control the situation effectively and find a viable solution. This is

Influence of the Media on Society

Influence of the Media on Society CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE AUDIENCE 3. THEORIES AND IDEAS BEHIND PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES. 4. CONCLUSION 5. REFERENCES 1.0 INTRODUCTION We live in a world where the media dictates the way we dress, look and behave. Our society is becoming more and more materialistic, where we desire goods, products and spend money on items that are unnecessary. The media portrays the celebrity lifestyle as the ideal way of living and distributes masses of magazines that contain:- Celebrity gossip Dress sense Interfere into their personal life. Emphasise less glamorous pictures of them. Weight loss/gain. Display images of perfect celebrity bodies. Magazines such as Heat and Vibe target the young female population who are very impressionable and encourage the onset of anorexia and other eating disorders. Such media information results in the readers feeling less confident, experiencing body dismorphia and believing that coming out in spots etc is unnatural, (Vincent, 2001). The youth today are trapped in a society greatly influenced by media and are unable to distinguish between reality and normality exposed by media components. Media constantly reminds society of human perfection seen in celebrities, which can be perceived on billboards, magazines, TV and on the net. The society is becoming obsessed with image and particularly weight; we can view reality shows for weight loss and plastic surgery, which are components that further corrupt the minds of young adolescents, (Sproule, 1997). The mass media has now become a form of communication between cultures, global locations and most importantly as a means of advertising products and services that companies offer. The prominent expansion of globalisation has helped communication process between countries all over the world, where barriers such as language and cultural differences have been overcome or accommodated for. The role the mass media plays in our society is phenomenal, media communication components have expanded as technology has advanced, if we refer to electronic media and the accessibility of global news with the click of a button. Media is continuously making the society believe that luxury items are necessities, it should be highlighted that media shapes the society to such an extent, that individual opinions are also affected so that they are in agreement with the mass media, (Robbins, 1999). The major concerns in society are weight conscious young females and children who are being bullied, however the media does not facilitate enough for such important issues, instead we are in constant reminder of problems celebrities face and other unnecessary information. 2.0 THE AUDIENCE Society has not acknowledged the full potential or power of mass media. Society’s mind has changed considerably where industries/companies cannot rely on customer loyalty, as the competition between multinational companies is too big. The most powerful tool is the mass media that are paid large sums of money by industries and companies to capture the attention of potential or existing customers. For example if we consider the battle of Coca Cola and Pepsi, which has been going for years; Pepsi have employed a different approach by using popular celebrities to appear on their adverts and also used sport to make drinking Pepsi more â€Å"trendy†. It should be mentioned that mainstream media is driven by many market forces. For many companies such as the newspaper industry, the product (information provided) is regarded as the audience and the customers considered as the corporate advertisers (Chomsky, 1997). Many may be in disagreement with Chomsky’s statement, because it is not a normal manner of perceiving such customer and product relations. It would appear normal to consider the newspaper as the product and customer as the audience. The newspaper example can be generalised to assess the information and the reasons behind purchasing the magazines with celebrity and soap information. However if we analyse the scenario, where customers/readers conform to a demography where valuable information interpreted will be passed onto other members of society, and depending on the interest of subject topic will encourage the purchase of the paper. If this is true then the customer who has purchased the paper, has advertised what he/she has learnt/read. We refer to the paper as the audience; primarily it is the product that attracts the customers, hence the advertisers bring income to companies, (Vincent, 2001). The media has portrayed the need of knowing about celebrity lifestyle a necessity and has made society more addicted to TV programmes by providing future storylines in magazines or newspapers. In conclusion to Chomsky’s theory, the audience is also the consumer. The audience demographics are essential for media industries, where we should be aware that the content of media invasion/persuasion in our society is not as important as the target audience. It is a misconception to believe the notion of satisfying the customer, because in reality industries target audiences who able to afford the products on offer and in advertisements. Bagdikian (2000) proposed that magazine advertising has a major impact on society’s conception of products and views of global issues. Bagdikian believes that impact of magazine influence and advertising reached a stage where editors chose articles containing adverts, which were thought to have the most influential impact on the readers as apposed to the article content itself. 3.0 THEORIES AND IDEAS BEHIND PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES The communication used by the mass media includes predominantly TV, magazines and books. Such mediated messages are perceived as packaged commodities and perceived or presented in such a form that the target audience is forced to return to these goods and services, (Jankiewicz, 2004). Society and media influence has come so far along that separation of thoughts, opinions and way of living in the world today is impossible. When we refer to the media, we automatically assume that their advertising techniques are blatant and visible to us. However the mass/mainstream media disguises many adverts in the form of news and advertorials (which may be critical analysis of current issues). The characteristics of the mass media can be summarised, as presented (Sproule, 1997):- 1. Audience remains unknown to the source. 2. Message is transferred through so many media channels which are   technological and involve a lot of time and effort. This insinuates that   immediate feedback is not available. 3. The source is most probably a complex organisation that decides when   and where a particular product should be available in the market. The major issues faced by the mass media are propaganda and the impact of globalisation especially where cultural differences are less and less detectable and we are dominated by â€Å"Americanism†. The domination of the mass media in the society is successful because the means of persuasion that are employed to attract target audiences, (Prestage, 2002). The term persuasion refers to a method/process by which we influence the behaviour, physical or mental status of others by influencing them to adopt a particular manner or perception that is in agreement to ours. The persuasiveness of the mass media constitutes of two key points, which are the Direct-Effects Perspective and the Limited effects Perspective. The Direct-Effects Perspective assumes that media has direct effects on the audience and can be explained if the message-model (refer to Figure 1.1) is acknowledged as well as the cultivation theory. The Limited-Effects Perspective proposes that we are selective to media coverage and information. It postulates that we ignore messages that do not accommodate/suit individual needs and remain in focus of reality, which can be explained better using the cultural studies theory, (Underwood, 2005). The two-step flow model (message-model) was introduced by Katz and Lazarsfield in the 1940’s when they researched into the effects of political mass communication. Many valuable theories and conclusions were found by the researchers, one important aspect highlighted in their investigation was the change in votes (5% of sample group) as a result of media exposure. Their findings helped coin the term Limited Effects Paradigm of media influence. The general idea behind the two-step flow model is that opinion leaders play a vital role in the portrayal of media messages. Their theory is based on some assumptions deduced from their investigated, and are summarised below, (Chomsky, 1997):- There are limitations to effects of media messages which may be influenced by interpersonal relational and group membership. Misconception of the term â€Å"mass audience† as this instigates that all have equal say and input into the effects experienced through media influences. However it is clear that some individuals play a more active role than others where others simply conform. Opinion leaders in the â€Å"mass audience† are in constant interaction with the mass media and regard their selves as highly influential to others (refer to Figure 1.1). The Cultivation Theory developed by Professor George Gerbner during the 1960’s, when he began his investigation into the effects of TV on viewers in relation to their perception of everyday life. Many theorists believe that TV has long term effects and cultivates our attitudes to normality, (Vincent, 2001). The Cultivation Theory can be interpreted in two components, which are the first and second order effects. The first order effects refer to the beliefs that may emerge towards prevalence of violence and the second order effects may have developed in having particular attitudes where you may be conscious about personal welfare. Much cultivation research investigates the viewers’ perception of TV reality in comparison to reality of our society, (Chandler, 1995). Professor Gerbner proposed that TV dominates our symbolic environment, where TV can be perceived as a more attractive or realistic world to viewers. He also suggested that the exaggeration of violence on screen provides mixed messages to viewers; the younger audience are most likely to be affected, (Robbins, 1999). Professor Gerbner summarised the theory by postulating that if a viewers surrounding is similar to that shown on TV, then the effects of cultivation are the greatest. The Rhetoric Theory is based on three important aspects, which are:- Logical Emotional Ethical The Rhetoric Theory is mainly concerned with the available means of persuasion; it is regarded as using symbols to produce effects and involves use of either language or symbols. Advertisements come in so many forms, where the motive of the advert or message influences the form of persuasion. Sometimes images/symbolism such as logos is more appealing than literature, (Prestage, 2002). In conclusion to this section, it can be said that there are many theories of media persuasion towards target audiences, a few common theories have been mentioned to give the reader a broader thought process towards media domination, which is continually growing in our society. 4.0 CONCLUSION Media influences our society to such an extent that many have become obsessed with image, luxury items and especially weight. The media persuasive strategies have become stronger and stronger and more widely available which a result of globalisation. We live in a world where we are constantly exposed to the mass media and cannot help but become influenced by products and services that are unnecessary and become lost in the media reality and the reality of our society. Although there are many theories that try and explain the persuasive strategies of media domination and techniques employed to target certain groups. As with all theories, the hypotheses mentioned in the previous section are not without criticism; however they provide a more in depth insight into the media components and how literature such as that found in magazines in very influential. Magazines are convenient on long journeys and celebrity gossip and detail makes it very appealing especially to the young female population. The mass media does not realise the negative effects publicity of weight concern has on young impressionable adolescents, who may portray media images as a normal perception. REFERENCES Bagdikian, B., H. (2000). The Media Monopoly (6th edition). Beacon Press, 2000. Chandler, D. (1995). Cultivation Theory. Accessed online, URL: http://www.CultivationTheory.htm Chomsky, N. (1997). What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream. Z Magazine. Jankiewicz, H (2004). The Concepts of Rhetoric. Accessed online, URL: http://www.RhetoricTheory.htm Prestage, J. (2002). Mainstream Journalism: Shredding the First Amendment. Online Journal, URL: http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/WarOnTerror/Shredding.asp Robbins, R. (1999). Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Allyn and Bacon 1999. Sproule, J.M. (1997). Propaganda and Democracy: The American Experience of Media and Mass Persuasion. New York: Cambridge University Press. Vincent, R., C. (2001). Transnational Media and the Survival of Democracy. Department of Communication. Accessed online [google], URL: http://www.communication.indstate.ed/transnational_media.html Underwood, M. (2005). Katz and Lazarsfield: Two Step Model. Accessed online [google].

Destructive Love in Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon Essay examples --

Destructive Love in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon When an emotion is believed to embody all that brings bliss, serenity, effervescence, and even benevolence, although one may believe its encompassing nature to allow for generalizations and existence virtually everywhere, surprisingly, directly outside the area love covers lies the very antithesis of love: hate, which in all its forms, has the potential to bring pain and destruction. Is it not for this very reason, this confusion, that suicide bombings and other acts of violence and devastation are committedÂ…in the name of love? In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, the reader experiences this tenuity that is the line separating love and hate in many different forms and on many different levelsÂâ€"to the extent that the line between the two begins to blur and become indistinguishable. Seen through Ruth's incestuous love, Milkman and Hagar's relationship, and Guitar's love for African-Americans, if love causes destruction, that emotion is not true love; in essence, such destructiv e qualities of "love" only transpire when the illusion of love is discovered and reality characterizes the emotion to be a parasite of love, such as obsession or infatuation, something that resembles love but merely inflicts pain on the lover. As her "daddy's daughter", there is little doubt that a form of love exists between Ruth Dead and Dr. Foster; however, such love is not truly love because as evidenced by Ruth's subsequent life, the filial relationship better resembles an emotional dependence that Ruth took for granted (67). The great emotional schism within her that is the result of her father's death leaves Ruth dysfunctional: she is unable to emote towards other, especially her family. Instead, ... ... Sunday man. He has instead become his cause, and the person behind that cause has been lost. In Song of Solomon, through many different types of love, Ââ€"Ruth's incestuous love, Milkman and Hagar's romantic love, and Guitar's love for his race, Ââ€"Toni Morrison demonstrates not only the readiness with which love will turn into a devastating and destructive force, but also the immediacy with which it will do so. Morrison tackles the amorphous and resilient human emotion of love not to glorify the joyous feelings it can effect but to warn readers of love's volatile nature. Simultaneously, however, she gives the reader a clear sense of what love is not. Morrison explicitly states that true love is not destructive. In essence, she illustrates that if "love" is destructive, it is most likely, a mutation of love, something impure, because love is all that is pure and true.

Police Brutality

Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that It's sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process Is Illegal and police officers should be charged Just like any other criminal offender.It should be the responsibility of the Justice system to establish effective tragedies to deal with the rising Illegal satellites In order to restore public trust In the law enforcement authorities. The police, the group with the responsibility of protecting citizens, commit Illegal satellites. Individuals engaged In law enforcement satellites can define police brutality as the process of using excessive force.In addition to the abuse of power by the police force, the term is also use d to illustrate the misuse of power by individuals in the municipal, correctional facilities and other facilities subjected to reforming and retaining criminals. In a case reported in the ear 2011, SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team, killed a 31 year old man in a mistaken identity (Roberts 1). It is evident that several law enforcement individuals have been conducting careless investigations.It is evident that these cases are rarely reported either because the victims are uninformed of their rights, or the victim is afraid that same police who committed the misconduct in the first place will also be involved in investigating the abuse cases. By the year 2011, there were over 470, 000 reported cases of police brutality, that could be easily located on the internet Roberts 1 Although people are gradually being encouraged to report abuse cases, the numbers have not decreased.Compared to the level of crime and the reported criminal activities, it shows that the public is usually at risk of being attacked by a police officer than a real criminal Monsoon 365). This means that police are becoming some of the individuals highly involved in criminal activities. Various Forms of Police Brutality The longstanding perception is that police brutality Involves only physical assaults. However, the term can also mean psychological assault, abuse and other forms of issue of power.Some of the remarkable forms of police brutality Involve false arrests and accusing the wrong person. In Dalton, Intimidation and police profiling can also be considered police brutality, since It Involves Intrusion Into the rights and the property of Individuals. Physical brutality Is one of the most widespread, and In most cases, Individuals are subjected to torture and other physical harm. Ordinarily, people do not consider the various harsh treatments, being hit with police batons and being pressed by the police shield as part of police brutality.In most cases, people sustain very bad injurie s from some activities of the police. Psychological brutality is mostly brought about by verbal abuses and subjecting the public to inappropriate conditions. Psychological intimidation may also occur in situations where the police are holding a suspect and they subject him or her to threats on temporary psychological breakdown. In most cases, the reported cases are only those involving physical assaults, mostly because there is usually enough evidence to charge the involved personnel.Causes of brutality One of the main causes of police brutality is the authority vested in the police officers y their superiors, to ensure that law is enforced when necessary. When police officers are given the option to chose when to, and when not to, use excessive force, they end up abusing the power of choice by making the wrong decisions even when dealing with petty crimes. In addition, police may gradually develop some dislike for lawbreakers, especially in situations where the surroundings are ful l of criminals.Police officers in a crime prone region and in areas with extreme rowdy criminal behavior may develop some degree of dislike for the law breakers and their approach to dealing with the criminals may be brutal. In such situations, the police officers enforcing law and order act based on their emotions rather than their professional expectations. The gradual dislike leads the police officers to always contemplate on ending the rising crime and in the end; they find themselves using excessive force, even in situations where force was not needed.The SWAT team is one response unit that is trained and psychologically prepared to deal with tough and resisting criminals. In addition, the response team is issued with specific orders to use excessive force when necessary; especially if they note that, the criminals are ungenerous and may harm others. The above reasons police have also been known to use excessive force is because they think that they are above the law. Due to th e power vested in the police to deal with all types of crimes and to carry weapons, they soon develop the notion that they are above the law and end up misusing their powers instead of protecting the public.In addition to the feeling of being above the law, there are no practical and effective internal accountability mechanisms to regulate the excessive use of force by the police officers. Many police officers take advantage of the fact that many member of the public are uninformed of their rights and they therefore subject themselves to harm, on the basis that they are above the law. Lack of internal investigation procedures, especially due to solidarity, makes the police force lack effective internal investigative structures to check the misuse of powers by the police officers.In most cases, police may feel mandated by the blue codes to protect fellow police officers in case they are involved in criminal activities (Isoclinic 7). Blue codes is a code of silence amongst police offi cers. In such instances, the criminal is always perceived to be wrong and any action taken by the police is justified based on the existing police cultures. In most cases, police departments are established under tight and strong hierarchical models that make it hard to implement ethical decision processes (Owens and Prefer 7).This means that the decisions to engage, or not to engage, in brutal activities when dealing with the public are not clear, In addition to the faults in the system, the other issues that lead to police brutality may include psychological and behavioral backgrounds of the law enforcement officers. In most cases, police are left to deal with criminals, while still suffering from psychological and sociological disengagement. Some of the reasons committed. In addition, some officers claim that they act under authority of the senior police officers.Although these reasons can be possible, they do not Justify the actions on the public, who trust the police officers f or protection. Civil rights Some of the legislations protecting the public against police brutality include the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens against unwarranted searches and seizures ND if an individual feels that the rights have been violated, they should immediately report to the relevant authorities. In addition to the fourth amendment, the Civil Rights Act 1871 protects the public from being harassed or mistreated in anyway whatsoever by the police.The law, which was enacted to protect the minority groups fighting for their rights, however exempts the public from making claims on brutality in section 42 of the 1983, edition (Civil Rights Division 1). The other legislation protecting the public against police brutality is the fourteenth amendment that establishes equality irrespective of responsibility vested by the law. Citizens have the right to have a fair trial and the police should not take it upon themselves to pass judgment and incriminate a suspect without goin g through the appropriate Justice process.The above legislations protect the public from police brutality by stating the rights of an individual, even when they perpetrate a crime. In case an individual is armed, it should be the responsibility of the police officer to disarm the criminal with minimal possible injury. This civil rights establish the boundaries and ensures that Alice act within their vested powers. In case of any brutality, individuals are encouraged to report the incident like any other crime in order to get the required support.Solutions to police brutality One of the groups that have come forth to protect the public against police brutality is the Amnesty International. This organization has been vibrant in identifying the rampant cases and in pressuring the government to establish internal strategies to deal with the ever-rising police brutality. The organization also identifies and releases reports indicating the prevailing police brutality in different regions. The external agencies notwithstanding, it should be the responsibility of each member of the public to ensure that they understand their rights and to report abuse cases as soon as they occur.In addition, the societal based cop-watch group should also ensure that the crimes are reported and conduct a follow up on the reported cases to ensure that Justice is served. The police departments should also establish flexible and effective accountability strategies that incriminates any police officers abusing power, and ethical guidelines should be enacted to prevent the police officers from purporting their own based on the existing cultures (Civil Rights Division 1). The justice system should also be strengthened to ensure that police law breakers are not left unpunished.The investigators of police brutality should be from independent bodies to avoid biasness during investigations. Since it has been a common trend for police officers to support their fellow officers over the criminals, the Justice system should set up an independent body to evaluate the operations of required. The government should also start an awareness campaign to educate the public about their rights and to explain about the appropriate channels for airing grievances associated with police brutality. Police Brutality ?Lucy Sanchez English 1302 Mr. Gonzalez 8 April 2009 Police Brutality Draft Who can forget the Los Angeles riots and the Rodney King beating in 1991? This case of police brutality was the most widely known. Over the years, it seems that police abuse remains one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States. It makes the people wonder if in fact police officers are doing their job and if they are here to protect us. Police officers get away with unjustified shootings, fatal choking, rough treatments, and severe beatings. Police brutality needs to be addressed and there has to be harsher punishment to minimize the amount of police brutality that happens. A punishment that they can receive for their brutality is harsher sentencing and job dismissals. If such a case should go to court the judge and jurors should sentence the police officer. If the case was minor then the chief of police or someone in charge. There is not a day that goes by that somewhere in the United States that an innocent civilian gets beaten from a police officer for no apparent reason. Sometimes the reason is because a police officer is racist. Racism, discrimination, and police brutality all go hand in hand because police officers usually do not go around beating civilians up for no reason. Usually the motive is because they are racist. The most major race that was affected by police brutality seems to be Caucasian people but according to the â€Å"NAACP, they say that between 1976 and 1987, officers killed about 1,800 blacks and 3,000 whites. Since blacks comprise approximately 12% of the general population, the data suggest that blacks are about three times more likely to be killed by officers than whites†. These appalling numbers are probably on the rise. It seems that there is no escape for police brutality because it can happen to anyone not just African Americans or Caucasians. Although, mostly Africans Americans are targeted it can happen to any other race. Police officers feel because they are the law they can do whatever they please. They feel that they are above the law. My father, who is now deceased, was a victim of police brutality. It was about eight years ago when the Garden Grove police department of California barged in my dad’s apartment around three in the morning with a warrant. The first thing I remember was when he was slightly beaten with their hands to arrest him. My younger brother and I were watching the whole thing and the police new we were there. So how could they even think about doing this in front of us? I asked my father when I visited him in jail,† Why do cops treat people this way? † He simply said,’’ they think they are above the law and they have no respect for Mexicans†. (Ruben Paz). When he told me this I never liked police officers no matter who they were. I hated them with a passion. I assumed they were racist. This kind of police brutality may not have been that severe but the case with Rodney King it was without a doubt. One reason that this incident of police brutality is so famous is because it was captured on tape. Watching this tape may be hard to watch because it is obviously seen that Rodney is defenseless and has no weapon, yet he is surrounded by six or seven police officers that are beating him to death with their nightsticks. Many agree that this was no regular traffic stop. The police officers that took part in this brutality at first were not punished at all. That is what caused the riots because people were very angry that those police officers could get away with such a crime, especially because it was caught on videotape. Later, according to Los Angeles Times, after taking a second look at the tape, two officers were sentenced to prison for violating Rodney King’s rights. The aftermath of this videotape was that people were not safe. African Americans were afraid of police officers and knew they were a target every time. While driving, walking, or even standing on a corner they are a target no matter where they go. When a victim has evidence that a police officer had assaulted or beat them in some way, that is proof and all they need to convict the police officer. In many cases, when this is brought to court or police department the punishment they give the police officers for their brutality is verbal reprimands, reprimand letters, suspensions, or dismissals. These punishments should be harder depending on the severity of the case. For example, according to facts. com, a police officer was not charged for the brutality he caused on an innocent civilian. His only punishment was a couple days suspension and he was back to work. Many police officers get this type if treatment. It is rare that an actual police officer gets convicted and sentenced to jail. Police officers should serve time behind bars to teach them a lesson. They should be treated just like the rest of the civilians. One right punishment an officer received for his brutality is eighteen months in jail and three years of probation. Michael Singleton, which was a police officer for Maywood police Department in California, rammed a civilian’s head against a wall. The victim Jose Bernal was knocked unconscious, his nose was broken, and suffered temporary paralysis to one side of his face (Los Angeles Times). This type of punishment that Michael Singleton received is very rare because he was actually convicted. After so many cases reported of police brutality many cannot beat he system. Because police officers are above us in law we cannot win. We can if we have hard evidence o them, but sometimes even that cannot help us because of the corruption inside police departments. In order to decrease the amount of brutalities we have to first define the barriers of what is brutality and what is their job as police officers. Another way can result in more constant training and better use of force training and policies. When people are in trouble and the only number they can call for help is 911 we sometimes think about it twice before we call. How can we be afraid to even call the police department? Has it in fact changed the way we think about police officers? They are supposedly here to serve and protect but how can we believe that when they are committing crimes themselves? Police brutality is no joke. One question I have been asking myself for a very long time is, â€Å"Who can police the police? † it may not make sense but to me it does. How can they be trusted when they are the law? They should not be above it but they act as if they are. Of course not all police officers are bad. Some are police officers because they are here to serve and protect those that cannot protect themselves. It is safe to say that there are some good cops but more sure that there are more bad cops. It is a sad thing but only my opinion based on the experiences I have encountered with them. In the past I used to hate cops but I learned to know that some could be trusted. Even though, police brutality will never stop and that is a known fact, I will always keep my guard up. Works Cited Los Angeles Times. 18 October 2008.. â€Å"Police Brutality. †   Issues & Controversies On File   3 Oct. 2003. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 9 Apr. 2009   . â€Å"Police Corruption. †   Issues & Controversies On File   30 Apr. 2004. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 7 Apr. 2009   . Rodney King. 2007. video. 12 April 2009. .

Draft Process for Major Sports

A draft is a procedure used to apportion certain players to sports teams, particularly college players for involvement in professional sports (Encarta, 2009). During a draft, teams take turns in selecting from a pool of qualified players. Accordingly, when a team selects a player, the former receives exclusive rights to sign the latter to a contract. The most recognized mode of draft is the entry draft, which is utilized to allocate recently qualified players to play in a certain league. NFLThe NFL team that finished with the worst record during the preceding year is granted the first draft pick, unless the team had earlier made a trade that relinquished its right to pick first. NFL draft has seven rounds and, accordingly, every team can each have seven selections. The draft is held in April and is every NFL team’s chance to improve the roster by adding new talented players. Only upon completion of four years of play that a college player becomes eligible to join the NFL draft .In the recent decades, however, a growing number of players have preferred to enter the draft as underclassmen by going out of high school for at least three years. NBA The May NBA Draft Lottery is a yearly event that establishes the order of selection among non-playoff teams to take part in the process of obtaining rights to pick promising young local collegiate and foreign players. For teams that do not win one of the top three picks in the lottery, the order of the selection will be decided by the order of their regular season win-loss record.During the calendar year of the draft an aspirant must be no less than 18 years of age to qualify for the draft. Moreover, a draftee who completed high school basketball eligibility must be separated for no less than one year from the time of his class graduation. MLB Every year the MLB holds two drafts, which lasts up to 50 rounds; however, a much shorter draft is carried out in Rule 5 draft. The Rule 5 draft takes place every December, du ring the general managers’ annual Winter Meeting.The selection order is also based on each team’s previous regular season win-loss record, with the team with the worst record starts every round. MLB draftees are either college baseball players who have played three years and who have turned 21 years of age or high-school graduates who have opted not to go to college. However, players who have been in the organization for four years and were signed at age 18 or younger, or were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for three years but are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster, are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft.NHL Every year, the NHL holds a seven-round off-season draft. Similar to the NBA, the NHL makes use of a lottery system to establish which team gets the top pick, beginning with the five teams with worst previous season record. However, like any other drafts, teams are allowed to trade draft picks. Any overseas p layer over 18, and any North American player age 18-20, is eligible to join the draft. Players are generally chosen from overseas clubs, the NCAA, high schools, and junior hockey teams. Cities with teams in the league take turn with the NHL draft's location.MLS MLS teams draft players at the annual MLS SuperDraft. The draft is divided into four rounds with fourteen picks each, with the worst team likewise getting the first draft pick. The selection order is decided as follows: the first six selections are given to teams that did not make it to the playoffs beginning with the team with least previous regular season points; while the other eight positions are ranked by least regular season points amongst the teams that were eliminated in the same round of the preceding playoffs.However, an expansion team is given the first draft pick in each round. In order to be eligible for the draft, aspirants must be: college players who are nominated by MLS teams and no longer have college eligib ility; invited to join in the draft year's MLS Player Combine; or generation adidas-signed players. Conclusion Every year, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS conduct its draft. Depending on the sport, the players may come from junior teams, high school or college teams or teams in other countries.In recent years, these drafts have become spectator events, receiving the attention of millions of audiences throughout their drafting periods. Certain rules are relevant during their respective draft processes, some of which serve to make watching them a thing of some excitement and suspense. Reference Microsoft ® Encarta ® Online Encyclopedia. (2009). Draft (sports). Retrieved July 13, 2009, from http://encarta. msn. com