Prisoner Education Free Essays

string(38) " as a second language, and many more\." The education of prisoners is a topic that is riddled with complications. One of the major barriers in the way of prisoner education is public indifference and ignorance. It seems that people are almost happy to simply lock people away rather than actually confront problems such as recidivism and community reintegration. We will write a custom essay sample on Prisoner Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Our paper argues that prisoner education is not only a good thing, but is necessary to fix the underlying problems within the United States prison system. There is definitely a lack of education programs in our prison system today. Furthermore, even in those institutions that have education programs have many different problems such as; courses that are interrupted or terminated on the personal whims of prison administrators; the absence of libraries; waiting lists for programs; limited or no access to training in information technology; vocational courses that are dated paths to nowhere. By looking at effective existing programs, field studies at Massachusetts prisons, and actual prisoner interviews we will attempt to outline a model program and argue that educating prisoners is a means by which to help save out failing prison system. As we have talked about in class, the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, but we also possess one of the highest crime rates. If the previous statement is true, there is an enormous problem with our system, and we believe that education is the key to solving it. In order to properly critique our prison system it is important to look at existing educational and vocational programs in our area. The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s has a mission statement which reads, â€Å"The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s mission is to promote public safety by managing offenders while providing care and appropriate programming in preparation for successful reentry into the community. † They do this by following their four step program â€Å"Manage – Care – Program – Prepare. We found that some of the programs offered may fit this mission, but others need tweaking. The first prison we decided to research was MCI Norfolk. MCI Norfolk utilizes a myriad of different programs, from adult basic education to Welding. However, the sheer number of programs offered does not always indicate a successful educational system. In our research we found that Norfolk, although possessing a wide verity of programs, i s one of the worst educational programs in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. However, MCI-Norfolk does offer a few programs that we thought were very unique and would be helpful in designing a model program. For example, MCI Norfolk offers a program called the â€Å"Responsible Fatherhood Program† which seeks to raise the awareness of male inmates’ parental responsibility. The program tries to emphasize the value and importance that a father’s presence can have on a child. The program lasts eight weeks and requires a minimum of eight hours of structured curriculum driven activities. The RFP program works in three stages, with the ultimate goal of reunited father’s with their children, and strengthening their bond as father and child. The â€Å"Fatherhood Graduate Maintenance Program† is for graduates of the RFP program, which allows inmates to practice and discuss the skills they were taught in the previous stage. Once they have passed the FGMP stage, the inmate moves onto the Father/Child Visitation Component, which is a structured and staff facilitated visit for inmates who have completed the first two steps of the program. What we liked about this program is not only that it seeks an important goal (preparing inmates to become better fathers), but it is very extensive and requires a lot of dedication from the inmate. Another program that we liked was the â€Å"Employment Readiness Program† which is a 10-day workshop that is designed to assist inmates in the development of the necessary skills that are needed for successful transition back into the community. The program runs 2. 5 hours per day for inmates who are within one year of their earliest possible release date. Throughout the course the participants are taught; resume building, cover letter writing, job application processes, mock interviews and how to maintain employment. Also includes social support, housing plans, financial awareness and budgeting, education referrals, criminal impact and attainable goals. All of these skills are important to learn in order to find and maintain a job, and some inmates may have never learned these skills. Our biggest critique of the program is that it is far too short. There are a lot of important skills listed in the program description, but 10-days at 2. 5 hours a day is not nearly enough time. Our suggestion is to run the same type of program, but offer it as a yearlong class. This class is offered at all of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections prisons, and we feel with the proper revamping, it could be a very successful program. The third existing program that we looked at was the Boston University Program. The program is designed to meet the needs of the students who have accumulated a minimum of twelve transferable college credits. Students eligible to enter this program have an opportunity to achieve a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from BU’s Metropolitan College. Although this program requires inmates to have already accumulated college credits (which most have not) we thought it was important to mention because this program is donated in full by Boston University. Many times over the semester we have seen that finding funding for prisoner education is difficult. Most people are hesitant to want to pay any amount of money to fund the education of criminals, and that is why programs like the Boston University program are so important. If we can remove the stigma associated with prisoner education, finding funding will become easier, and more programs will be available. The final prison program we looked at was the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. As with MCI Norfolk, Souza-Baranowski offered many different programs, including; barber school, computer technology, culinary arts, educational counseling, English as a second language, and many more. You read "Prisoner Education" in category "Papers" However, like Norfolk, we found that Souza-Baranowski had certain programs that were unique to their facility. The program that we thought was most unique and interesting was the â€Å"Relapse Program† which is a vendor facilitated eight week, twenty-four session program designed to assist inmates in identifying high risk situations that may lead to relapse, and teach them skills to address those situations without relapse. We thought this program was essential because using a prison as a detox center and never teaching addicts the skills they need to avoid relapse is ineffective. This program not only helps participants identify high risk situations, but helps them develop the skills they need to avoid or combat those situations. Souza-Baranowski utilizes many different programs in order to educate their inmates, and that is part of the reason why we decided to do part of our field study at this location. Our fieldwork interview conducted by our Crime and Social Justice group focused on the Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center (SBCC) by speaking to their Education Principal. This facility, located in Shirley, MA, is considered a Maximum Security Level Prison. Sitting on top of 18 acres of land, the SBCC is one of Massachusetts’ newest correctional facilities holding close to 1300 inmates. The principal of the school, Mr. Brian Hogan, kindly volunteered his time and answered a few questions regarding the model education program available at the SBCC. Brian Hogan has held the position of principal of Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center since the prison’s founding in 1999. His experience as a public school teacher and as a case manager for the Department of Correction made him a qualified candidate for the position. The information he relayed to us about the SBCC education system as well as his opinions on the subject matter was very useful to our group in figuring out what works for prison education and what does not. According to Mr. Hogan, the school in SBCC houses around 200 inmates and offers a variety of different classes for all levels of education. The elementary school classrooms, which ranges in grade levels from 2nd to 6th is in one classroom, while the 6th to 8th grade level students are in the Middle School Classroom. At the high school level, two classrooms exist; one with a pre-GED teacher and another with grades 9-12th. In addition to these basic classrooms, specialty teachers exist for the prisoners who might have more difficulty in the learning process such as literacy, ESL and special education classes. Finally, the highest level of education available for the inmates is a limited amount of college courses available through a distance learning program and videoconferencing. In our interview, Brian Hogan thoroughly described the process necessary to be considered for the education program and the eligibility requirements for the prisoners. The MCI diagnostics department for basic educations tests all the offenders who wish to be considered for the educational program. Through this test, they determine his level based on their scores on language, math and reading exams. Subsequently, the inmate’s name is placed on a waiting list while the education level is sufficiently evaluated and based on whether spots are available or not, this determines if they are enrolled as student in the school. All of the prisoners are eligible for a spot in the program, but certain circumstances create a higher likelihood of actually being chosen. SBCC is more likely to enroll inmates with smaller sentences as well as the ones that are closest to their release date. According to Mr. Hogan, the reason for this is to effectively reach out to the prisoner right before they are released into the community when they need it most. SBCC contains a wide variety of inmates and many who are at different points in their sentences. From men who are about to be released to others who might be doing life in jail, all kinds of inmates do exist in the facility. Although these prisoners doing life do get a shot at attending the prison school, they are definitely the least priorit ized in receiving an education. Even as least likely, these men are not completely excluded and one spot by SBCC is reserved in every classroom for a â€Å"lifer†. The education system is focused wholly on a voluntary basis for the inmates. No one officer or teacher exists that goes out and recruits the inmates or encourages them to join the school. The men are given the material: handbooks, outlines and all types of information about the school to attract their participation. Whether the inmates decide to apply for a vacancy or not is totally up to them. SBCC does offer an incentive to encourage the prisoners to enroll. The incentive takes two and half days off the inmates’ sentence for every month he attends school. It should also be noted that this is all contingent upon the good behavior of the offender. As soon as he acts up, however, he is taken out of the classroom and not allowed to attend the education program any longer. One of the questions our group was interested in knowing more about concerned the funding and technology available to the prison in order to successfully to teach these prisoner students. As Mr. Hogan remarked, some funds do come from the Massachusetts State budget however, the program also depends on private state grants for a big portion of the money necessary to support the education program. The prison’s technology resources are relatively well-off with two to three computers, with no internet connection, available in each classroom. Additionally, different software programs are also availa ble for these students such as spelling and keyboard software as well as GED preparation software. The ESL learners also have the benefit of Rosetta Stone to aid them in learning English. In Hogan’s opinion, SBCC’s school can be considered as â€Å"cutting edge in education† for prisons. He believes that recent years has brought about a new focus and shift directed towards college classes, where 15 of the 200 men enrolled in education classes are currently capable of taking college-level courses and work towards an Associates’ degree. The school has helpful teachers who are experienced with public school teaching and school counselors who point the students in the right direction and encourage their schooling. The program, to Mr. Hogan, is moving in the right direction and the state and national statistics available suggests that education in prisons does work. Evidence shows that prisoners, who have some college or schooling after leaving prison, do not return. Not only are recidivism rates reduced, but these men usually find decent jobs and overall the public becomes safer because once released these guys do not commit crimes again. Mr. H ogan mentions that just by having these education classes, it goes a long way in changing the norms when it comes to education in prisons. He talked about how years ago such education programs would definitely have been frowned upon by the public. People were incapable of understanding why men, who have committed crimes and are in jail to pay for these offenses, would be rewarded with the opportunity to get an education in prison. People especially turned against such schooling whenever taxpayer’s dollars entered into the picture. As Brian Hogan put it, education systems in prison are not the most politically correct thing and that is why the public often gets in the way of the promotion of these education programs in facilities. Speaking to Mr. Hogan increased our knowledge base about the specific programs available in Massachusetts for prisoners, and compared to some of our other experiences we counted ourselves lucky that this interview went so smoothly. This was not the case with some of the other contacts that our group tried to reach out to. After submitting multiple proposals to the Suffolk House of Correc tions, in the end our request to visit the prison to speak to the inmates was denied. In another attempt to visit a prison, and if that failed, then to speak to the school principal, we contacted MCI Norfolk just as we had reached out to Souza-Baranowski. Unfortunately, Ms. Diane Wiffin was not the most obliging and went back and forth with our group as if trying to avoid the questions and unwilling to give her opinion. When we informed her that the principal of SBCC had given us the description of his education program, she asked to review his answers, and her response was as follows: Hi, Chelsea! Veronica M. Madden, Deputy Commissioner of the Classification, Programs and Reentry Division, and I have reviewed your proposal and the questions and responses from Brian Hogan, Principal at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center. Mr.   Hogan’s responses can be applied to MCI Norfolk as there are consistencies in the administration of our education programs throughout our facilities. Deputy Commissioner Madden did want to comment on your question as to why people are refusing to give you information and how hard it is to obtain an interview. We don’t know who else you have contacted, but as I indicated to you when we spoke, we get an overwhelming number of student projects and we have limited resources to be responsive to those requests. As much as we would like to be available, we just don’t have the resources. In terms of Mr. Hogan’s response to that question, Deputy Commissioner Madden wonders if Mr. Hogan was referring to potential public reaction to inmates who participate in the Boston University Prison Program, which is donated by BU at no cost to taxpayers. BU also makes several scholarships available to DOC staff. We think the public is supportive of inmates’ receiving adult basic education, GED and vocational training. Attached is a copy of our Program Description Booklet. Education information is contained in that. Also as p art of that booklet is a listing of programs and education/vocation training listed by facility. In addition, on www. mass. gov/DOC there is research material covering recidivism rates. This is should be exactly what you need for your project†¦ Diane Wiffin, Director of Public Affairs As her response shows, little time is available for the Deputy Commissioner to answer our questions and apparently the program of SBCC can be applied to MCI Norfolk. Our group was lucky that Mr. Hogan did not mind answering our questions but this reluctant behavior made us wonder why prisons were unwilling to talk to us about their facilities. Before contacting Ms. Wiffin, we had already experienced certain setbacks with the process and we decided to ask Brian Hogan what his opinion was about why so much disinclination existed to speak to a group of Boston college students. He believed the difficulties we experienced were due to their fear of the public’s reaction to education in prisons. Many times these prison education programs are not advertised for people and either they do not understand or choose to not understand just what affects it could have on the community. Mr. Hogan reflected, the taxpayer does not want to spend their money on something considered to be more of a reward, when they should be punished. In addition, he mentioned that this government funding for programs of college education receives much critique because parents have their own children that they are struggling to put through college. Consequently, seeing men in prisons able to take advantage of this makes them angry. Overall prisons are very skeptical of people’s intentions and fear that something, like education, that they believe to be good, could be misconstrued by the public. This is especially true because as he puts it, what newspapers and the media portray is often negative when it comes to crimes and inmates in prisons. From these negative images, people make their own negative assumptions and believe that all prisoners are bad and should not receive any education. As a result, many do not care that this, overall, would be something better for the community and many take no importance that such education reduces the rate of recidivism. Mr. Hogan also states, that the â€Å"reality does not make for good reading,† and so little things like watching a recently released film to prisoners becomes outrageous for some constituents. These interesting opinions from Mr. Hogan reminded our group of everything that our class had touched upon regarding the image of crime in the media. Sara Beale, in the article we read for class â€Å"The News Media’s Influence on Criminal Justice Policy: How Market-Driven News Promotes Punitiveness,† (Beale 2006) claims that the media is manipulated to show a negative image of crime in the public and as a result instills a moral panic. In framing, the media emphasizes a certain crime story, idea or feeling, often negative, resulting in the viewer’s fear in crime and offenders. The more fear they feel, the more the inclination to call for punitive policy and punish the offender. Also, television shows and news reports are used as entertainment for the public to improve ratings. This means that the entertainment sometimes does not accurately reflect the reality. (Beale 2006) This inaccurate reflection of reality encapsulates how people in the public view education for prisons and how it is portrayed to the masses. For this reason, the prisons are scared their education programs might lose funding and resources, and therefore are reluctant to give away too much information to the public and media. In general, our group’s opinion of the SBCC’s is favorable and can be considered a good education model. Other information that we have gathered shows that the only programs some prisons actually have depend upon re-entry programs. These re-entry programs tend to lecture to the inmates on the limitations on their behavior, before they are released into the community. Oftentimes no real engagement occurs with the prisoners, and if no education exists than these former inmates are more likely to commit crimes again. We believe that the college classes available to the inmates of SBCC are a significant asset to their program, and other research we conducted suggests that these classes are the most effective in reducing recidivism. Opponents do arise amongst the public concerning education in prison, but it would be more beneficial if they took into consideration that more education equals less crime and less recurring offenders. Another conclusion we arrived at from our interview is the need for other prisons to implement these education programs and to make them more available to inmates. With only 200 prisoners out of 1300 allowed to participate in schooling, there are still many who never get the opportunity to learn. If these classes were available to more of the inmate population, then perhaps recidivism could be addressed more thoroughly through these efforts. We also believe that prisons such as MCI Norfolk should improve their programs if the reason for not giving us information is because the program they have is incompetent. If the reason for not talking to us is due to fear of misrepresentation, we think this has to be addressed in a different manner, perhaps through informational pamphlets or some other form of media to get the message out to the public that education in prisons is a good thing. After many trials and tribulations, trying to break through the barriers of prison security that refuses to share the prison education information, we got creative. Pondville Correctional Center is located in the town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. The facility houses 204 inmates total. The majority of the inmates are Level 3, which means that they are minimum-security inmates, while the others are Level 2, meaning that they are pre-release inmates. Our group decided to go to one of the work placements, which was at an auction house near the facility. About fifteen inmates were present at the auction house, and we had the opportunity to speak directly with all of them during the hour before the auction. This was an incredible and interesting experience, one that none of us had ever had before. It gave us much more insight into the prison system and the people inside of it. As mentioned on the Mass. gov website, â€Å"The primary mission of Pondville Correctional Center is to protect the public’s safety by incarcerating inmates and to provide inmates the opportunity for responsible reintegration and positive behavioral change† (Public Safety, 2011). We believe that in order to fully reintegrate someone into society, inmates need to be educated and also have vocational training so that they can be a meaningful and productive addition to society once they are out of prison. When looking at the programs offered at all of the prisons, the options seem pretty extensive. For example, Pondville requires all inmates to work unless they have a medical waiver and they also give prisoners vocational, educational, and self-help opportunities. The facility boasts that their education programs are â€Å"innovative†. They offer classes including Adult Basic Education, English as a Second language, GED tutoring, and a Life Skills Computer program that focuses on resume writing, job applications, job interviews, and personal finance. If we merely looked at the website, we would conclude that the opportunities for inmates are there, they just have to get involved. After speaking with the inmates, we realized that this was not the case at all. The inside perspective from the inmates, that other prisons had so desperately tried to keep from us, made it clear that, although they have some classes, it is almost impossible to get into the programs. The reality is that there is open door access to programs at prisons, but it goes by earliest release date and overall there are not nearly enough programs. One man said that there are only about eighteen men per class, but 400 people want to be in that class. Also, because it is by earliest release date, many people will be in prison for years until they get the chance to be in the program. How we can we, as a society, expect someone to become completely educated if we only let them into the programs 6 months before they are released? We, as a society, are appalled that people are let out of prison and then go back to their old habits, but this is because they do not know how else to act. They fall back into their own uneducated ways and wind back in prison, but if we do not give them an education, what else should we expect? Another issue with the education offered to prisoners is that most of the teachers do not have high expectations for the inmates. As one inmate stated, if we show up, we pass. We do not have to do anything if we do not want to, but if we merely show up, she will pass us. From experience, our group agreed that it is extremely hard to try hard and have a strong work ethic when your teacher expects nothing from you. A lot of the teachers at the prisons, as Brian Hogan, principal at Souza Baranowski told us, have been laid off and, therefore, are relocating to prisons. This means that they are real and qualified teachers, but then why are they not expecting the same from the inmates as they did from their previous students? The teachers need to take responsibility for the success of the inmates. They need to have expectations for the prisoners and only pass them if they deserve to pass. Having education classes is a start, but they need to have education classes in which the prisoners actually learn things, and that is not going to happen if they are passed just for showing up. Denying prisoners feeds into a theory that we discussed this semester while reading The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. (Reiman, Leighton, 2010). The Pyrrhic defeat theory states â€Å"the American criminal justice system – the entire process from law-making to law-enforcing – has failed to eliminate the rates of crime that characterize our society and threaten our citizens† (Reiman, Leighton, 2010). We discussed this theory as a group and concluded that the criminal justice system fails to liminate the rates of crime because we are sending inmates back into society the same way (or even worse) than they were when they entered the system. Instead of using the years that they are in the system to educate them and teach them better ways, we are letting them sit around watching Jerry Springer, joining gangs, or fighting each other. By denying prisoners a proper education and then just expecting them to change and not come back to prison is absurd. The ign orance of people believing that prisoners are not entitled to an education will just continue to perpetuate the crime cycle. For example, if an offender has served his time and has to face the world again with a lack of academic knowledge on top of an already perceived low morale as they will be judged for being in prison in the first place, it will be a lot easier for them to stray again and end up back in the system. However, with the prospect of being educated and having added knowledge, this will hopefully encourage and give inmates the confidence and ability to make something of their lives and also be provided with the idea that they can do other things in life than turn to crime. We need to be smart on crime. We need to educate people so that they have the ability to change once they are released. Once a prisoner gets his GED, so many more doors open up for them and more opportunities arise. Because they already have a strike against them for being in prison, inmates need credentials to get their foot into the door, and an education will help them with this. While visiting the auction house, we talked directly with a man named Tom Lyons. Tom has spent the last twenty years in prison for killing a man. When he entered the system, he was illiterate. After spending some time with Tom, we learned that a mixture of religion and education changed his life. His release date was coming up on April 15th, and he could now read and write due to the education that he received in prison. He studied poetry while in the system and his favorite author is Emily Dickinson. Tom says that having an education made him realize that he wanted to help others, and he wants to go around speaking to groups about his experiences, etc. He also said that without an education, he never would have been able to have the confidence to want to make something of his life once he gets out. While Tom was lucky enough to get an education, he also has missed out on a lot. Over the past twenty years, so much has changed in our society. Cell phones, Internet, and other technological advances have transformed us. However, Tom has never experienced most of these things. He was getting out in 15 days and they were just teaching him how to use a computer. He said that there were always programs that were interesting to him, but he could not get into them until he was really close to getting out. As Tom said, â€Å"if you’re preparing someone to change their entire life, you need to start right as we get in. Not one year before we are getting out. I was lucky and got into an education program earlier, but millions of people are not. † Tom may have learned to read and write, but he is still so far behind in terms of understanding technology, something crucial to succeeding in today’s world. From speaking with Tom, we realized that there is so much that needs to be addressed within the education department within prisons. After speaking with Tom and the other prisoners, we realized that there is an open door access to programs, but this does not mean much because a lot of people cannot get into the programs because eligibility goes by earliest release date. The prisoners gave us some of their main wishes for the education system. These included for people to have higher expectations for them, for there to be more programs and more GED programs, and to have teachers who truly care about their success instead of just showing up to get a pay check. These wishes are all things that we think many would agree with. They are not asking for things that are absurd. They are just asking to be given the chance to get an education, and if we, as a society, want them to stop ending up back in prison, that is exactly what we need to give them; a good education and skills to use outside of prison. Although there are solid arguments why it is unfair for prisoners to be getting these perks while being in prison, one must remember the structural deficits that currently exist in our society. In an ideal world, education in the prison systems would not be a necessity or a topic of discussion. Within an idealistic system, there would be adequate educational programs that created motivation and encouragement in all youth to work hard and stay on the right path. This correct path would lead students to the ample jobs awaiting them. There would be no need to resort to criminal activity in order to support oneself or one’s family. Anyone who did stray from these available opportunities would have no excuse for their irresponsible behaviors, leaving prison as their option of punishment. However, and this is a big however, because the current structural system is not giving everyone equal opportunities to climb the rungs of the social ladder. Understandable then, many individuals feel trapped into a life of crime and violence as a means to escape the grueling effects of an unfair system. This is not an excuse, nor is it justification for the crimes that many people are arrested and imprisoned for. Regardless of the unfair system, acts of violence and criminality should neither be supported nor accepted. Because society does not mirror the ideal that many wish for, there will inevitable be acts that are deemed unlawful. With an unequal system and over two million inmates the question arises, whether as a nation our desire is to rehabilitate these prisoners or just punish them and house them in prison cells for the rest of their lives. There are many sides to every story, and in this case there are those who support educational programs within prisons and there are those who are opposed to it. Some argue against education for those on death row, while others say that no one in prison should be given the opportunity of an education. Knowledge is power, but why should prisoners be given this power? The money that is being spent on prisons should be going to the education of people who are not criminals. Others argue that there is so much money being spent on housing and feeding prisoners already. Why do these prisoners deserve an education when so many children are suffering through poorly funded public school systems? The most popular reason is that people believe their tax dollars are being spent on educating prisoners while many Americans struggle to send their children to college or even good high schools. Also, educating prisoners is seen as a distant reward that benefits them individually rather than benefitting society Unfortunately America’s individualistic nature creates a shortcoming for their nation. They do not see the benefits of educating prisoners. An educated nation is a better nation. The stance that will be taken is to rehabilitate prisoners and allow them to become working members of society upon their release. Under this perspective, the education system within a prison would not only be necessary but would serve as a vital program to helping prisoners have the slightest chance at emerging into society as skillful and productive members. If inmates receive an education before they are released from prison, if they have help through this system to gain a job and work to support themselves, one can only hope that it would reduce the level of crime and reduce the number of prisoners re-entering prisons. This hope is the reality. Although Studies have clearly shown that â€Å"participants in prison education, vocation and work programs have recidivism rates 20-60 percent lower than those of non-participants† (Granoff, J 2009) many Americans still disagree with the education of prisoners. Despite these negative arguments against educating prisoners, there exist an abundant number of advantages to these programs. After discussing with the Principal and director of the prisons and discussing with the inmates themselves, it is clear that the education system is under a lot of scrutiny by the public. The principle of the Souza-Baranowski maximum-security prison said, â€Å"People don’t understand it. People are struggling to send their kids to college. People are abiding by the laws and doing the right things don’t see the benefit of educating those who have broken law†. Without information on programs and how they work to benefit society, the general population will remain oblivious to the constructive aspects of these programs. The media affects the way we view society and the programs within it. Media programs stress certain points that highlight what people want to hear, what lobbyists want said and what society deems important at the time. In order for people to realize the extent of the positive impacts of the programs available, we need to hear more success stories like that of Joan. Joan said, â€Å"I did not realize at the time that I had taken the first step on a journey of lifelong learning. Nor that the process would allow me to accumulate â€Å"human capital† (qualifications skills and abilities), â€Å"identity capital† (self-worth) and â€Å"social capital† (a supportive network of friends and colleagues). † (Erwin, J) She is just one example of the many positively impacted individuals who were transformed from caterpillars to butterflies with a little encouragement and motivation. As said before, we believe that many of the existing programs in the prison systems aim at positively influencing the prisoners. We understand the complexity of the issues at hand and the controversy that surrounds this discussion. Although these troubles exist, we came up with what our model program would consist of, and the recommendations that we have concerning the programs that are currently being utilized. Our model program is based on a rehabilitative method. We would want to prisoners to accumulate â€Å"human capital† â€Å"identity capital† and â€Å"social capital† as Joan described. The programs would be mandatory to ensure that all prisoners were getting involved. There would also be incentives to take part in the programs. Of course the prisoners should want to take advantage of these programs without being pushed to do so, however, we recognize that getting the ball rolling will show these prisoners what they are capable of. For many inmates, no one has ever pushed them to capitalize on their true potentials, which leaves them yearning for self-fulfillment in all the wrong arenas. Our hope is that once they see their capabilities, this will push them to continue to work hard and motivate them to move past their criminal behaviors once they are released from prison. It is very important for there to be vocational classes that give the inmates specific skills and talents that will ensure them some job opportunities when they are released from prison. On a higher level, GED classes and college programs need to become common in all prisons instead of being the exception to only a few. We also believe that the number of programs being offered needs to be drastically increased. As the inmate said, there are 400 hundred people who want to be in certain programs but only 18 can be. This disparity is disheartening, as the desire to change exists; however the opportunity to do it is lacking. As prison populations grow into the millions, society must decide how â€Å"tough on crime† they are going to continue to be. The individual states have the power to decide the individual educational systems within their prisons. Education, as a result of negativity towards all prisons, has not only become less of a priority but is seen as prisoners being given a free ride. The problem however, is that the current system that offers harsh punishment and little rehabilitation is not working. Harsh punishment does not however mean deliberate cruelty. Prisons should not be a place that purposely creates horrible conditions for inmates. Just having your freedom taken away from you is probably one of the worst things that can happen to an individual. Certainly, no one has the right to injure another person or to take his or er life however, if society does not work at rehabilitating these individuals, then the length of sentences and punitive measures will not only need to be increased but turned up by many notches. The cutting of education budgets within prisons increases the likelihood that upon release these prisoners will only return to prison. People in the general population are already reluctant to hire som eone with a criminal record so adding a lack of education will make it virtually impossible for released prisoners to do anything but go back to their old lifestyles of crime. This will only create a never-ending cycle that will inevitably become hurtful to society as a whole. Of course the ideal education system outside of prison is what we dream of, but until then we support the efforts to protect society by educating those who once harmed it. Work Cited Erwin, James. â€Å"In Prison, Education Is Your Best Route to a Better Life | Erwin James | Society | Guardian. co. uk. † Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian. co. uk. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. http://www. guardian. co. uk/society/joepublic/2009/sep/17/erwin-james-education-prisoners-rehabilitation. Granoff, Gillian. â€Å"Education Update – Prison College Programs Unlock the Keys to Human Potential. † EDUCATION UPDATE – APRIL 2011 – Education News. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. http://www. educationupdate. com/archives/2005/May/html/FEAT-BehindBars. html. Public safety and security, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2011). Pondville correctional facility Government Printing Office. How to cite Prisoner Education, Papers

Preoperative Preparation Elective Laparoscopic †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Preoperative Preparation for Elective Laparoscopic. Answer: Introduction In this essay, there will be a study of the perioperative care of the patient with laparoscopic left hemicolectomy surgery. The key patient safety during the pre-operative, intraoperative and postoperative phase supports the positive outcomes. Improper measures of the safety, communication and the team issues are the causative factors for the higher morbidity and high mortality within the operated patients (Han and Min, 2016). Thus, there is the huge importance of the proper management of the perioperative journey by the providing proper safety, communication and the management of the team issues. In this report, there is a case study on the laparoscopic left hemicolectomy. The patient perioperative journey will be detailed from the admission to the hospital till the discharge of the patient from the post-operative department (Han and Min, 2016).. The essay will properly explore the aetiology and physiological process of the disease and patient predication for the justification treat ment's surgical course, the negative impact of the surgery and the related care, safety, issues during the perioperative journey of the patient. The essay will explore the actual or the potential safety, team issues and communication that arise during the care of the perioperative condition and explore the impact of the above on the patient health outcomes. The colectomy is the surgical removal of a section of the bowel or the large intestine. These types of surgeries are done for the treatment of the bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis, crohns disease or colon cancer. The symptoms of the bowel diseases include constipation, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, weakness, fever, chills, weight loss, and loss of the appetite or bleeding or there may be no symptoms that are why screening is essential. Colorectal surgery is generally performed for cancer and other pathological condition of the colon (Voron, Douard and Berger, 2016). In spite of the noteworthy advancement in surgical technique such as laparoscopic and evaluation of the multidisciplinary recovery plans, the morbidity rate, and the mortality rate is much higher and vary amongst the various surgical centers. The scoring system that is used and assessment of the capacity of the functionality may support the identification of the patients with high risk and with the predicat ion of the complications. There is a necessity to have the understanding of the factors affecting stress response suppression, optimum fluid therapy, and the pain management. Anesthesiologists are the people that significantly contribute the enhanced recovery and improvement of the perioperative care quality (Voron, Douard and Berger, 2016). Laparoscopic left hemicolectomy: In the case, 69 years man is scheduled for the laparoscopic left hemicolectomy with positive FOB test. Colorectal surgery (CR) for the diverticular, inflammatory diseases or cancer is the surgery that is associated with the high risk. For colorectal surgery, other indications include iatrogenic injury or perforation, ischemic colitis or volvulus (Voron, Douard and Berger, 2016). For the positive perioperative outcomes and management of successful anesthetic, a knowledge of the basic science that is specific for the CR surgery such as colonic blood flow, stress response, preoperative assessment, and pain and fluid management is essential. In addition to above enhanced recovery, evidence-based principles and multidisciplinary team works can potentially support in minimizing the complications incidences (Voron, Douard and Berger, 2016). There are significant numbers of the patient over 75 years suffered from rectal cancer. The patients general fitness is a good predicator of after surgery outcomes for the CR cancer than the age of chronology. Electrolyte imbalance, anemia, nutritional deficiency and weight loss should be recognized and corrected in the preoperative care. In the elective cases that underwent non cancer surgery, the detailed medical problem evaluation and treatment are necessary. However, in the case of the patient that require urgent or cancer surgery, time is very limited (Voron, Douard and Berger, 2016). During the emergency surgery, the main objectives are the identification of deterioration function of the vital physiological organ and their main cause such as hypovolemia and sepsis. Clinical examination, history, monitored parameters review, and the laboratory investigations are necessary to judge the problem severity. Respiratory and cardiac diseases are common among the patients those are undergoing the major colorectal surgery during the preoperative periods. CPET-cardiopulmonary exercise testing suggests as the integrated objective of functional reserve measurement and helpful in the determination of complications and resulted in outcomes (Mekhail et.al, 2011). The CPET results have high prediction value for the patients those are at the risk of development of cardiopulmonary complications during the postoperative period. The CPET also found to be useful for the prediction of the death risk with no ischemic heart disease history or the risk factors for the same (Poylin et. al, 2014). Various types of risk indicators and scoring systems are being used for stratification of risks for the patients those are going on the gastrointestinal surgery. The indicators for the clinical risks are consequents of history, physical examination, functional capacity, serum makers and specific variables to surgery for example; surgery emergency (Mekhail et.al, 2011). In 1991 1996, there was the development of the POSSUM-The physiological and operation severity score for the morbidity and mortality Enumeration and Portsmouth (Mekhail et.al, 2011). The scoring system based on POSSUM predicts the outcomes and the complications. The CR POSSUM that is specific special uses the ten measures of which six are physiological and four are operative is easy to use, accurate and validated (Mekhail et.al, 2011). On comparison, a scoring system based on POSSUM with ACPGSI that is Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, it was found that ACPGSI and CR-POSSUM are best predicato rs of mortality than POSSUM and the P-POSSUM (Mekhail et.al, 2011). In the US, there is the application of NSQIP-National Surgical Quality Improvement Programme for the provision of risk adjustment in the 30 days outcome data, but it is less accepted by the other health providers. In the case study, the patient is undergoing the surgery due to 4mm adenocarcinoma on the left descending colon and the patient was diagnosed by the General Surgeon with adenocarcinoma and booked for the surgery (Mekhail et.al, 2011). For the preoperative preparation, the review of more than 3000 patients concluded that aerobic and anaerobic antimicrobial prophylaxis reduces the infection at the surgical site by 75%. The patient with Crohns disease may intolerant to enteral diet (Daniels et. al, 2013). Status of poor nutrition especially with hypoalbuminemia is being associated with postoperative complications enhancement such as increased hospital stay and infections. Preoperative loading of carbohydrates orally supports the reduction of preoperative discomfort, insulin resistance postoperative, postoperative vomiting and nausea, loss of the muscle mass and improvement of the muscle strength (Daniels et. al, 2013). Chewing of gums mimics feeding, promotion of the peristalsis through hormonal and neural mechanisms that increase the gastrointestinal juices secretion and colon motility and reduction of paralytic ileus postoperative (Poylin et. al, 2014). Modification of the stress responses can be easily achieved through absence or presence of peritonitis, nutritional support preoperative, anesthetic agents intraoperative use and employment of anesthetic techniques, adjuvants preoperative use such as the use of alpha agonists and beta-blockers, postoperative analgesic and patient pathway may cause (Daniels et. al, 2013). During CR surgery, the surgical issues that affect the stress response are open surgery duration, surgery urgency, laparoscopic techniques and blood loss and transfusion amount. Associated stress responses are fatigue, bowel dysfunction postoperative, delay in wound healing, a complication associated with infection such as anastomotic leak, wound infection and the cardiopulmonary complications. In cancer patients, there will be delayed recovery and metastasis increased susceptibility and some long term side effects (Mufty et.al, 2012) Suppressed immune function recovery is faster in the laparoscopic surgery and influences the cancer surgical patients recurrence. There are several strategies that counteract the stress response such as shortening of the fasting periods, nutritional support use and glycemic control, epidural analgesia and laparoscopic surgery (Mufty et.al, 2012) Researchers had found that there are no differences in the inflammatory responses in the patient undergoing CR cancer surgery, they receive either intravenous anaesthesia; remifentanil and propofol or the inhalational anesthesia; fentanyl and sevoflurane. Researchers revealed that plasma concentration of the cortisol and epinephrine were tremendously lower and T-cells and lymphocyte numbers were expressively higher during the epidural anesthesia. During the surgery, systemic lidocaine has anti-inflammatory activity and also supports the suppression of the stress response in the patients those are intolarent to epidural anaesthetia (Mufty et.al, 2012) Methyl Prednisolone also helps in the modification of the stress response and improvement of the postoperative pain and pulmonary function and reduction in length of hospital stay. During the Laparoscopic surgery, dexamethasone administration in dose 8 mg supports lower interleukin-6 and interleukin-13 concentration peritoneal on the first day and significant reduction of postoperative fatigue. Flubiprofen, Parecoxib, and pentoxiphylline (NSAID) are also very useful as the multimodal approach markedly enhances recovery and reduce stress after CR surgery(Chow, 2011).. For the preoperative management of the patient, the team should take the proper measures and treatment that can reduce the later problems(Chow, 2011). These preoperative treatments should be properly communicated with the intraoperative and postoperative team as the preoperative care favors the patient health improvement rapidly after surgery. In the case, the preoperative care team did not properly handover the patient history, preoperative treatment, and consent to the intraoperative team (Chow, 2011). The first legal potential issue regarding the case is that the preoperative care team has handover the consent that is without the signature of the patient and also the patient has little knowledge about the preoperative assessment. If during surgery, any type of miss happening may occur that can create legal issue without patient consent. It is a key responsibility of the preoperative team to properly clear the preoperative assessment procedure and also the anesthetic procedure to the patients before surgery (Shin, 2012). According to the polices, there should be active involvement of the patient during identification of validation of procedure and consent(Parker, 2016). There is a vital role of patient involvement, if there is miscommunication between health care professional and patient then it will lead to increase in risk potential adverse outcomes of the patients that will be associated with the errors in the procedure (Parker, 2016). There should be confirmation of the patients consent through signature and also the patients dual identity should be confirmed by the band. Here the associated risk is the improper documentation of the patient. After the patient identification, then there is conductance of the anesthetic assessment. At this stage, there is potential safety risk related to the anesthesia management, airway management, and intraoperative management were observed (Schwartzberg, 2017). The perioperative anesthetic management goals are the minimization of immune responses and stress maintenance, multimodal analgesia, electrolyte and meticulous fluid therapy, and postoperative gut dysfunction prevention. As in the preoperative care treatment and care support the positive outcomes in the management of above factors (Schwartzberg, 2017). Hypothermia is the condition that causes unwanted systemic changes that includes stress response exaggeration and immune function suppression in the patients that underwent the CR surgery. Active thermoregulation should be carried out during laparoscopic surgery as it cannot be maintained after surgery by bowel exposure reduction (Schwartzberg, 2017). During Laparoscopic surgery, p hysiological changes lead to cardiorespiratory problems. Patients position should be maintained carefully during surgery for the prevention of complication that is position-related. In the laparoscopic surgery case, epidural analgesia may be valuable if the patient substantial respiratory disease during preoperative condition. It is significant to insert the epidural catheter if there are chances of conversion to open surgery(Kim and Ogawa, 2012).. The regional anesthesia such as a combined technique that is spinal-epidural is possible for the resection of low anterior of the rectum. The intraoperative thoracic epidural analgesia and anesthesia is associated with an increase in CBF and good gastrointestinal recovery (Kim and Ogawa, 2012).. Epidural analgesia and pain control does not affect the recurrence of the CR cancer. After the establishment of spinal anesthesia by heavy 0.5% fentanyl and bupivacaine, 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine is recommended for the extension of spinal anesthesia. Though, the microcatheter was detached at the surgery ended(Kim and Ogawa, 2012).. Several types of research have shown that the management of hemodynamics reduces the gastrointe stinal complications that are postoperative (Sumi, 2013). For the achievement of the end points fluids inotropes of fluid alone are recommended. Oxygen saturation changes in the CNS, during the intraoperative and postoperative period, leads to complications(Sumi, 2013). Oxygen saturation 73%, during the intraoperative period, is able to prevent the complications. Dopexamine preoperative use improves the circulation is a controversial statement. In the case, there is lack of the intraoperative team communication as most of them are unfamiliar and less experienced (Sumi, 2013). The team consists of the anaesthetic nurse, the scrub and circulating nurse, the anaesthetist and the surgeon. The surgeon has experience of 25 years with the surgical procedure and the anaesthetist is trainer registrar that was supervised by the consultant that is from a different hospital and visited from last 7 years. The anaesthetist and the surgeon have not worked together previously (Sumi, 2013). The scrub nurse is also less experienced and the circulating nurse who has experience is supervising the RN that is a beginner. As the whole team has less experience so they have less knowledge of the policies and safety risks and the experienced team members lacks communication as they are less familiar. Thus, the key safety potential that the team should communicate properly before surgery for their management, are not communicated properly due to time shortage and communication gap (Wang et al., 2016). Due to the communication gap, the scrub nurse left the light source on the patient's drapes that have a risk of fire. After the surgery, the anaesthetic registrar is worried about the aspiration as the patient has the problem of coughing and slight regurgitates After the whole surgery, the last procedure is time out. This procedure requires the active involvement of all team members, communication, and participation that is essential for safe surgery. After the intraoperative management, the surgical team should properly handover the patient to the PACU team. But in the case, the intraoperative team did not properly handover the patient to the nurse and nurse complained about it to the head nurse. According to the pain protocol, medication chart is followed and the patients vital signs were within the limit but he is complaining of pain and vomiting episodes. Because of the patient discomfort, the registrar was called upon to see the patient and he recommended the medication and overnight stay in HDU but the patient discharge time was after 2 hours and he is just sedated. The nurse was relieved by the other in the afternoon (Wang et al., 2016). The key potential issue in the postoperative care is the communication gap between the intraoperative and postoperative care team because of which the patient faced the discomfort, nausea, and pain and the longer stay in the hospital. Thus, during the postoperative care, the nurse should be properly handover by the anaesthetic registrar (Wang et al., 2016). By adoption of the evidence based practices in perioperative period can enhance the recovery after laparoscopic surgery. This practice is designated as fast track or enhanced or accelerated recovery after surgery (Hu, Zheng and Li, 2017). The pathway for recovery, enhanced or conventional can be managed by the multidisciplinary teams that include surgeons, anesthesiologists, nursing staff, acute pain team, nutritional experts, physiotherapists, and pharmacists. ERP is related to postoperative morbidity reduction (Hu, Zheng and Li, 2017). Despite, it does not lead to mortality reduction. It is recommended to decrease the hospital stay length. The ERP aim is the reduction of perioperative organ dysfunction and stress associated bowel by the incorporation of the multimodal approach (Hu, Zheng and Li, 2017). The postoperative therapy for the fluid maintenance considers the requirements, pathological changes and losses associated with CR surgery. During the postoperative segment, restrictive therapy for fluid management has shown beneficial results (Kalady and Church, 2014). There are several advantages of early enteral diet such as improvement in intestinal anastomoses healing, improvement in colon intake, positive nitrogen balance, and preservation of functionality of gut barrier, improvement in calorie intake, infection complications reduction, reduction in insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, reduction in septic complication and reduction in hospital stay length. It is safer and effective than TPN that requires the central line (Kalady and Church, 2014). After the surgery, thoracic epidural analgesia is advised. For the postoperative pain, intrathecal analgesia, pain-controlled analgesia, wound infiltration; wound infusion, systemic lidocaine infusion, and transverses abdominis plane are used (Kalady and Church, 2014). Opioids are less recommended as they have side effects such as vomiting, nausea, bowel motility inhibition and constipation and their use lead to delayed bowel function return and intake orally aylimopan; a peripheral antagonist showed the reduction paralytic ileus duration after CR surgery (Kalady and Church, 2014). There is a risk of anastomotic leak after the use of inhibitors of cyclooxygenase 2 (Han and Min, 2016). However, NSAID is the part of the multimodal approach. Other analgesics such as gabapentin, tramadol, and ketamine are not recommended as they are used in the routine recommendation. For the laparoscopic surgery, there is no evident analgesic method (Daniels et. al, 2013). Same benefits may not be obtai ned from the epidural analgesia as in the open surgery. Epidural analgesia is benefitted, if the patient has pulmonary morbidities in the preoperative conditions and also if the surgery is converted to open surgery. One of the recent studies has shown that there is the earlier return of the bowel function through IT analgesia as compared to the epidural analgesia. Some reported also shown faster recovery with the epidurals after the laparoscopic surgery (Han and Min, 2016). Conclusion In the last, it is concluded that the perioperative care includes preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care. If the key issues and problems associated with the perioperative care should be properly maintained during the perioperative care then this will lead to lower morbidity and mortality after surgery. In preoperative care if the antibiotic prophylaxis, immune and stress management has been done, in the intraoperative management, if position, hyperthermia, proper anesthetic therapy and in the postoperative management, diet and fluid management, pain management can be done properly then this help in the faster recovery and reduce the hospital stay of the patient. In the case, there is a number of the key safety potential that was by not fulfilled by the perioperative team due to lack of communication, experience and less practice of the policies regarding the perioperative care. If all of them communicate properly for the patient care and multimodal approach for the patie nt care then recovery of the patient can be assured to the maximum extent. CR surgery has significant mortality and morbidity. As in above case, there is communication gap and less concentration on the potential and principles, there is increased morbidity and long stay of the patient in hospital after surgery. References Chow, A. (2011). Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery for Right Hemicolectomy.Archives Of Surgery,146(2), 183. Daniels, S., Saha, A., Proctor, V., Habib, K. (2013). Is laparoscopic surgery for right hemicolectomy cost-effective?.International Journal Of Surgery,11(8), 621. Han, J., Min, B. (2016). Laparoscopic-assisted radical left hemicolectomy for colon cancer.Journal Of Visualized Surgery,2, 148-148. Hu, W., Zheng, J., Li, Y. (2017). Laparoscopic extended right hemicolectomy with D3 lymphadenectomy.Annals Of Laparoscopic And Endoscopic Surgery,2, 120-120. Kalady, M., Church, J. (2014). Prophylactic colectomy: Rationale, indications, and approach.Journal Of Surgical Oncology,111(1), 112-117. Kim, S., Ogawa, S. (2012). Biophysical and Physiological Origins of Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent fMRI Signals.Journal Of Cerebral Blood Flow Metabolism,32(7), 1188-1206. Mekhail, P., Saklani, A., Naguib, N., Masoud, A. (2011). Internal herniation after laparoscopic left hemicolectomy: An under-reported event.International Journal Of Surgery,9(7), 530. Mufty, H., Hillewaere, S., Appeltans, B., Houben, B. (2012). Single-incision right hemicolectomy for malignancy: a feasible technique with standard laparoscopic instrumentation.Colorectal Disease,14(11), e764-e770. Parker, B. (2016). Preoperative Preparation for Elective Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Using Spinal Anesthesia: A Case Report.MOJ Surgery,3(1). Poylin, V., Curran, T., Lee, E., Nagle, D. (2014). Laparoscopic Colectomy Decreases the Time to Administration of Chemotherapy Compared with Open Colectomy.Annals Of Surgical Oncology,21(11), 3587-3591. Schwartzberg, D. (2017). Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy with Isoperistaltic Intracorporeal Anastomosis.Csurgeries. https://dx.doi.org/10.17797/fdschc17au Shin, J. (2012). Comparison of Short-term Surgical Outcomes between a Robotic Colectomy and a Laparoscopic Colectomy during Early Experience.Journal Of The Korean Society Of Coloproctology,28(1), 19. https://dx.doi.org/10.3393/jksc.2012.28.1.19 Sumi, Y. (2013). Laparoscopic hemicolectomy in a patient with situs inversus totalis after open distal gastrectomy.World Journal Of Gastrointestinal Surgery,5(2), 22. Voron, T., Douard, R., Berger, A. (2016). Conservation of the left colic artery during laparoscopic left-hemicolectomy for cancer.Journal Of Visceral Surgery,153(1), 39-43. Wang, G., Hu, H., Zhang, Q., Liu, Z., Chen, Y., Wang, X. (2016). Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with transvaginal specimen extraction.Annals Of Laparoscopic And Endoscopic Surgery,1, 28-28.

Cold Sassy Tree Essays - Cold Sassy Tree, Jackson County, Georgia

Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns, who was born in Banks County, Georgia, in 1924, wrote Cold Sassy Tree. Burns collected all the stories of her father and his grandfather, a store owner in Commerce, which were a model for Cold Sassy. She wrote the sequel to this novel before dying in 1990. Characters Will Tweedy was the main character who retold the story eight years later. He was a young fourteen year-old boy at the beginning of the book. Will loved fishing, camping, driving, and spending time with friends. He also was a great story-teller telling true and fictional tales. He demonstrated his independence when he wished to go to college and become a successful farmer while his grandfather wanted him to work at the store. E.R. Blakeslee, owner of the main store in town, was Will's grandfather and father of Loma and Mary Willis. He was a well-respected man of Cold Sassy, rarely questioned by anyone to his face. Mr. Blakeslee was known for his great fights when he was younger. His left arm had been amputated after an accident in a mill. Grandpa treated and loved Will as though he was Grandpa's son since the old man did not have one. The old man was usually stingy about spending money but made exceptions. Grandpa did what he wished knowing the town would gossip about him and his actions. Although Granny Blakeslee(Mattie Lou), Mr. Blakeslee's first wife, was deceased during the story, we learned much about her. For example, she nursed many sick people but hated house work. She was considered a saint for all that she had done. She was strong for having to struggle with no bathroom, lights, or electricity because of Grandpa's unwillingness to pay for them. She and Mr. Blakeslee really loved each other and were married for thirty-six years. Miss Love, the second wife of Mr. Blakeslee, married him only three weeks after Granny died. At first Miss Love was just the housekeeper because she was cheaper than a colored lady. Then they fell in love, and Grandpa bought many things for her. She was sensitive and longed to be in a family like the Tweedy's. After a long time she finally became accepted into the family. Most of the town considered her a Yankee and treated her cruelly, even though she was from Baltimore. Mary Willis, the mother of Will and Mary Toy, was calm and polite. When Miss Love and her father married, she changed by showing and telling her feelings. She felt the whole family was disgraced by her father. She was a great mother and wife. Aunt Loma was one of the people Will hated the most. Only five years older than Will, she was cruel to him when they were young. Loma was bossy and expected to get what she wanted. She was also rude, especially to her husband who later committed suicide. At first, she hated Miss Love but later accepted her. Her hobbies included writing plays and taking care of her cats. Hoyt Tweedy, the husband of Mary Willis and a worker at Grandpa's store, was afraid to stand up to Grandpa , but usually at times he did. He often defended Miss Love because he worked with her and knew her as a nice lady. He worked hard and was really appreciated by all. Plot The book began with Grandpa announcing to the family that he was going to marry Miss Love Simpson. They ran off to get married in Jefferson, an event that sent the whole town to talking and disgraced and embarrassed the family. At Granny's funeral three weeks earlier, Will and Grandpa made a blanket of roses to have her body put in. After being in mourning for three weeks and having no fun, Will decided to go fishing with T.R., his dog. After fishing for a little while, Will almost lost his life on the train tracks. One day when a cowboy came to the house, Miss Love and he kissed like lovers. It was her old boyfriend, and he asked her to marry him. She said no and got upset. When Grandpa came home, he treated him like a guest and forgave her. Grandpa later asked Will to get a horse for Miss Love. On the way he and his buddies camped out. The horse really made Miss Love happy, and she adored the creature. Mama had not planned to go to New York with Papa since she was in mourning. She changed her

440 Different Topics for Essays and Speeches

440 Different Topics for Essays and Speeches If getting started is the hardest part of the writing process, close behind it (and closely related to it) may be the challenge of finding a ​good topic to write about. Of course, sometimes an instructor will solve that problem for you by assigning a topic. But at other times youll have the opportunity to choose a topic on your own. And you really should think of it as an opportunity- a chance to write about something you care about and know well. So relax. Dont worry if a great topic doesnt immediately spring to mind. Be ready to play with a number of ideas until you settle on one that truly interests you. To help get you thinking, weve prepared some writing suggestions- more than 400 of them, in fact. But they are only suggestions. Along with some freewriting and brainstorming (and maybe a good long walk), they should inspire you to come up with plenty of fresh ideas of your own. 440 Topics You Could Write About Weve organized the suggested topics into 11 broad categories, loosely based on some of the common ways of developing paragraphs and essays. But dont feel limited by these categories. Youll find that many of the topics can be adapted to suit almost any kind of writing assignment. Now follow the links to find more than 400 topic suggestions and see where they take you. Describing People, Places, and Things: 40 Writing Topics:Â  Descriptive writing calls for close attention to details- details of sight and sound, sometimes even of smell, touch, and taste. Weve come up with 40 topic suggestions for a descriptive paragraph or essay. It shouldnt take you long to discover at least 40 more on your own.Narrating Events: 50 Writing Topics:Â  Another word for narration is storytelling- though often the stories we tell actually happened. Narratives can serve to illustrate an idea, report an experience, explain a problem, argue a point, or simply entertain our readers. Here are 50 ideas for a narrative paragraph or essay. But dont feel that you have to tell one of our stories- not when you have so many of your own tales to tell.Explaining a Process Step by Step: 50 Writing Topics:Â  Process analysis means explaining how something is done or how to do something- one step after another. These 50 topics should start you thinking. But again, dont let our ideas get in the way of yours. Comparing and Contrasting: 40 Writing Topics:Â  Think about the last time you had to make a decision: right there is a topic for comparison and contrast. And right here youll find 40 more ideas that might be explored in a composition developed by comparison and contrast.Drawing Analogies: 30 Writing Topics:Â  A good analogy can help your readers understand a complicated subject or view a common experience in a new way. To discover original analogies that can be explored in paragraphs and essays, apply the as if attitude to any one of these 30 topics.Classifying and Dividing: 50 Writing Topics:Â  Are you ready to get organized? If so, youll probably be applying the principle of classification- perhaps to one of our 50 topics or to a brand new topic of your own.Examining Causes and Effects: 50 Writing Topics:Â  We cant tell you exactly what causes global warming, but maybe you can tell us. If not, these 50 other topic suggestions should start you thinking about why? and so what?Dev eloping Extended Definitions: 60 Writing Topics:Â  Abstract and controversial ideas can often be clarified through extended definitions. The 60 concepts listed here can be defined in various ways and from different points of view. Arguing and Persuading: 40 Writing Topics:Â  These 40 statements may be either defended or attacked in an argument essay. But you dont have to depend on our suggestions: lets see what issues really matter to you.Composing a Persuasive Essay or Speech: 30 Writing Topics:Â  Any one of these 30 issues may serve as the basis for a persuasive essay or speech.

A Secure Workflow for E-Government Application Essay

A Secure Workflow for E-Government Application - Essay Example Governmental agencies are providing services to their citizens and Foreign Companies via dedicated websites. Foreign users require services from the local department such as renewals of licenses and purchasing tenders. Providing a single secure portal that acts as a window to the various services is beneficial not only to these government agencies but also to their foreign customers. To get the full advantage of a workflow management system governmental agencies need a customized solution that fully corresponds to business and industry specifics. That is, a scalable platform for different tasks: This paper presents an approach for designing a secure workflow management system for e-Government portal, In section 2, we discuss some studies which are related to my research. In section 3, we briefly describe the overview of WFMS.The tools that will be used to improve the efficiency of workflow management systems in e-government portals and the advantages of utilizing these secure portals is presented in section 4. The onion routing technique is displayed in section 5and the methodology is discussed in section 6. Section 7&8 present the solution architecture and solution security, availability and scalability. We end this paper with section 9 that include future work and conclusion. Vijay Atluri from Rutgers University has claimed that Most of the commercial workflow systems provide minimal security features such as user authentication, Although some commercial WFMSs such as Flow Mark, Lotus Notes, and Chan engine can support role-based access control, they do not provide support to specify and enforce separation of duties constraints. They have to be implemented in an ad- hoc manner through a script type language [3].

Aristotle's Poetics vs. The Lottery and The Bourne Identity Essay

Aristotle's Poetics vs. The Lottery and The Bourne Identity - Essay Example For example, at the beginning of the story we have people gathering together for what seems to be a normal lottery. Then, we realize that this is no ordinary lottery because all the people seem nervous and afraid of winning. The stones that the children stack up are a foreshadowing of what is going to happen, but it doesn’t necessarily give away the ending. The reader knows that winning this lottery isn’t a good thing, so they may now be speculating about why it is such a bad thing to win. Getting the reader intrigued without giving away the ending drives the structure and arrangements of the incidents that occur in this tragedy. In this story, the characters are of secondary importance to the plot and the message that is conveyed. What gives the story it’s â€Å"soul† is the order of events which, in turn, builds up suspense and momentum. In the movie, â€Å"The Bourne Identity,† the arrangement and structure of the incidents are also very importan t in moving the plot forward. The first incident occurs when Jason Bourne wakes up in the fishing boat and doesn’t know who he is. Every incident that follows is a result of him trying to figure out who he is and who he works for. Thus, the plot is structured so that it moves from instance to instance based on a problem that requires a resolution.

How The Modern Police Force Has Developed Criminology Essay

How The Modern Police Force Has Developed Criminology Essay This assignment looks at how the modern police force has developed since it was first formed as the Metropolitan Police force and how it has developed to and expanded. Also how the public perceives the police and what they expect from them. In the early 19th century there was very little organisation in the police force, but as London expanded and the population increased the law and order needed to be maintained. Crime and policy came under investigation and in 1828 Sir Robert Peel organised a committee that provided evidence for his new police bill which is the main thing that led to the police force in London becoming organised. The metropolitan police was first organised in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel and Sir Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne are appointed as Justices of the peace who are in charge of the police force. In 1834 the select committee who inquire into how well the police are working within the metropolis area reported that that the metropolitan police force, as respects its influence in repressing crime and the security it has given to persons and property, is one of the most valuable modern institution. In 1836 the metropolitan police take the bow street horse patrol into its ranks. The select committee the n look into affairs of police officers and recommend that the City of London police should be put under the control of the metropolitan police force. In 1838 the select committee recommends that the marine police section and the bow street runners, who were the first organised and paid police force, and the bow street office is also to be disbanded. All of these recommendations came into effect in this year. The dockyard division of the metropolitan police is formed in 1841 and in 42 the detective department is formed. By 1845 the commissioners aim to have one police officer to every 450 people in the population. By the end of the 1840s there was a large scale enrolment into the special constabulary to help the metropolitan police deal with the chartist demonstrations, the strength of the metropolitan police was 5,288 who were able to perform duty and the population of London at the time was 2,473,758. The black marias were used to move prisoners in 1857. In 1862 there was further r ecruitment into the metropolitan police and the X and Y divisions were formed in west London and Y division in the north and later on they patrolled north east London. The standard height is raised to 5ft 8ins except for the dockyard division which is 5ft 7ins. The police strike for the first time in 1872. The police offices at Great Scotland yard are taken into possession on the 4th October 1875 by the detective department. In 1879 Initial rules for dealing with Murder cases, released on 7 June, stated the body must not be moved, nor anything about it or in the room or place interfered with, and the public must be excluded.. there were 13,319 officers in the metropolitan police force by 1885 for a population 5,255,069. The new headquarters are opened at New Scotland Yard in 1890. In 1895 there were certain qualifications that had to be met to join the police which were they had to be over 21 and under 27 when they joined, they also had to be 5ft 9ins tall without shoes, they also h ave to be able to read well and have readable writing, have a reasonable level of intelligence and be in good health. In the last year of the 19th century the metropolitan police force had risen to 16,000 officers to police 7 million people. The finger print bureau started operations in 1901.when the First World War starts in 1914 24,000 special constables were recruited and by the end of the year there were 31,000 and women were also first recruited in this year to police the women who had taken over most of the jobs the men had done. By the end of the First World War there was another strike for more pay and better conditions and recognition of the union. Women started patrolling in 1919 and the flying squad was formed. The police box system was started on an experimental basis. The metropolitan police forensic laboratory is opened in 1935. The 999 system was introduced in 37. In the 60s the police started using vehicles more instead of foot patrols in the form of the panda car. T he headquarters are moved, in 1967, from the Norman Shaw building to Broadway but keeps the name New Scotland Yard. In 1980 the metropolitan Air Support Unit was first formed. In 1997 the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System was installed (N.A.F.I.S). The requirements to join the police has changed drastically since they first came in in 1895. There are no academic requirements, it is open to graduates and non graduates where as before officers had to have good level of reading and writing but because the education system has developed since the 19th century and everyone has to go to school that isnt usually a problem. There is no longer a height requirement for recruits especially know as there are no restrictions on sex or ethnic background to join the police. the age requirement is very broad now as it is 18 and a half -55 years old, where as before it was between 21 and 27 to join. Applicants still have to be reasonably fit and healthy but now have to go through several fitness tests. The entry requirements to join the police now are now more general as it is open to anyone. Police communications started when the telephone was first invented, police phones and boxes were set up in the cities so that police could check in and report crimes. The police boxes were replaced with the police band radio came in several configuration, some had multiple channels, the radio was usually mounted in a panda car and was used to inform and update other officers on patrol. The radio has developed further into the radio system that is used today which is the airwave radio. The airwave radio is a digital and has replaced the analogue radio. There are many benefits of the airwaves radio some of which are there is improved coverage and speech clarity, also improved security and encryptions of communications, national roaming, scope for mobile data applications and improved ability for inter operational communications between the police and other emergency services. The police needed a new radio system because the old one had become out of date and the digital technology pro vides much better coverage and clearer signals. The TETRA technology covers more of the country so there are fewer gaps in the coverage, TETRA can also cope with major incidents when there are going to be many radios being used at the same time without overloading the network. During the Brixton riots the police were not equipped properly to deal with the situation and not only did many officers get injured but they were also forced to use bin lids for protection. The riot gear has since improved and the padded protection covers the body, there are proper helmets with face guards and the shield that are designed to with stand the situation of a riot. Sikhs in the police are not allowed to join the fire arms unit because they cant wear a helmet due to their religious requirements which are the 5 ks. The one that is the problem is the Kesh or uncut hair. Having uncut hair is believed to be a symbol of holiness and strength and is also a symbol of their wish to move beyond concerns of the body. British Police Sikh Association calls on Home Office to develop ballistic material to allow members to join firearms units. Sikh police officers want to have bulletproof turbans made so that they can be in the fire arms unit. In Sikhism men are required to wear a turban but because of the current police safety regulations they have to wear a helmet but they dont fit on top of the turbans and their religion states that they are not allowed to remove the turban. A ballistic material is being developed that would provide a degree of protection when worn so that Sikh police officers can be involved in fire arms operations, although there is an au gment that Sikhs dont have to wear crash helmets when they are riding a bike or motorcycle under the motorcycle crash helmets(religious exemption) act 1976. Research has begun to find the right material for making the bulletproof turban but it needs to pass the Home Offices tests before it can be issued to officers. Tens of thousands of pounds has already been spent to try and find a wear that Sikhs can wear but will also provide an adequate amount of protection, this happened when a Sikh officer applied to join the counter-terrorist operational Support Unit. Police community support officer (PCSO), work on the frontline with the local police force, providing a visible and reassuring presence on the streets and tackling the problem of anti-social behaviour. It is a full time, paid job. PCSOs have different roles in different forces, but they usually patrol a beat and interact with the public, while also offering assistance to police officers at crime scenes and major events. Depending on where they work, they can deal with minor offences, offer early intervention to help stop or slow down people who are committing an offence, provide support to police on the front line, conduct house to house enquiries, guard and monitor crime scenes and provide crime prevention advice to the general public. Although PCSOs do not have the same powers as regular police officers, they still carry a lot of responsibility, and are a critical part of the police force. They do not carry any of the equipment that regular police use like cuffs because they havent had the training and they dont have the right to enforce the law. Police community support officer will work to complement and support regular police officers, providing a visible and accessible uniformed presence to improve the quality of life in the community and offer greater public reassurance. Police community support officers have a unique role that is designed purely to tackle local anti-social behaviour and issues affecting other peopels quality of life. Police Forces continue to support community support officers because they areproviding a visible and regular patrol, unlike neighbourhood wardens, they are employed by the police and have some powers provided by an Act of Parliament to allow them to directly tackle some anti-social behaviour issues. The term moral panics are mainly associated with Stan Cohen, who used it in his book Mods and Rockers in the 60s. Cohens sociology was a mixture of American labelling theory and left wing British sociology which concerns youth and social class. Societies are subjected to periods of moral panic, a condition, episode, person or a group of people can be thought of a threat to a societies values and interests, its nature is stereotypically presented by the media. Sometimes the focus of the panic always around but can suddenly appear in the publics eye and can easily pass on and be forgotten but it can also be of a more serious nature and be kept in the front of the publics mind which can cause changes to be made in legal and social policies. One of the most remembered uses of the term was in Jock Youngs article in 1971 when he talked about the public concern about drug use. Thompson (1998) came up with five stages in a moral panic. One is something or someone that is defined as a threat to values or interests. Two is the threat is shown as a recognisable form by the media. Three is there is a quick build up of public concern. Four is that there is a response from the authorities. Five is the panic recedes or there are results in social changes. Conclusion The police have changed over the years to make them more efficient at their job of protecting the publics life and property. Thing like the new finger print system have helped to catch criminal and reduce the amount of crime. Police cars have made the police more mobile and capable of attending incidences quicker and the radio has made police able to communicate with any other officers with in their force and also they can report incidences and accidents quicker which allow other services to respond which saves more lives and makes the general public feel safer and trust the police with their safety. The police community support officers may not be able to enforce the law like regular officers but they can act as a deterrent because they are someone in uniform which criminals and law breakers would be aware of, they also provide reassurance to they public and can give information to other people making them aware of causes of crime and what the police do to stop it from happening. Th e police are making sure that all the forces have more women and ethnic minorities so that they can relate to the smaller communities who could other wise be less inclined to approach police because they might think of them as racist due to allegations that were made during the 1980s so having women and ethnic minorities working in the police gives the whole police force a more approachable look.