The Analysis of Pips Characteristics Essay Example for Free

The Analysis of Pips Characteristics Essay The Analysis of Pip’s Characteristics Great Expectations is a novel,written by Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens is one of the great novelists in Britain. Born in a poor family,Dickens gains a great popularity by producing many excellent novels and becomes rich in his life. The story tells that the growth process of Pip. Pip, a poor, uneducated boy, is suddenly told that he can achieve his great expectations one day. From that day on, he changes a lot both in thoughts and behaviors. He is ashamed of inferior people. However, when he knows who makes him rich and educated, he feels frustrated. After that, he experiences a lot and he leads a new life. The analysis of Pip’s chracteristics: 1. the childhood of Pip Pip lives in a poor family. His parents died when he is a baby. Pip is raised by his sister ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€Miss Joe Gargery, a harsh and unkind woman. Miss Joe Gargery always gives less food than Pip really needs. What’s worse, she often beats Pip with a stick. Most people except Joe, is just like Pip’s sister—treating him badly. Joe ,a blacksmith and uneducated man, is a friend of Pip. Joe often help Pip and cares about Pip very much. Pip grows under the environment. But he is still innocent, kind boy. Once, Pip was afraid, but still helped a convict and brought him some food. 2. the adolescence of Pip (1)the period before Pip goes to London Pip is hired by Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham, an old lady with white hair, always wears the wedding dress which is yellow with years. She was cheated by a bad man—Compenson and doesn’t believe true love. She has an adopted girl—Estella, and mades her hurt other men, including Pip. After Estella’s leaving for France, Pip becomes Joe’s apprentice and learns to be a blacksmith and learns some wrings which is taught by Biddy. In this process, Pip has a desire to learn. He wants to be a gentleman. He thinks that only in that way can he match with Estella. (2)the period when Pip is in London One day, Pip is told he can go to London to achieve educations by an unknown man. Besides, he can get too much money in the future. He thinks his great expectations can come true. The people around him treat him politely, such as Mr. Pumberchook who didn’t like Pip and fawns on Pip. That makes Pip believe that being rich is good. When Pip is in London, he spends too much money on luxiries. Instead of being a true gentleman, he becomes snobbish and thinks money is almighty. He shows excessive adorations towards money. He even feels ashame of Joe, because Joy doesn’t read. 3. the period after Pip knows the truth One day, Magwitch, the convict Pip helped in his childhood, risks his life to meet Pip and tells Pip that it is Magwitch that helps Pip becomes what he is now. Pip feels surprised, frustrated and regretted. He doesn’t see any hope of his great expectations. However, he becomes a more pleasant man—a man who is happy to help others. He helps Herbert run a new business. He also helps Magwitch out of trouble, although Magwitch is caught by the police. On a whole, Pip becomes mature and kind. He knows what he really want and what he shoud do. 4. the causes of Pip’s characteristics (1)Environment affects Pip’s characteristics The surrounding people , their attitudes or behaviors affect Pip. When everyone is in the same position, either foolish or ignorant, he can realize nothing is wrong. Because he never knows that. But once he meets someone who is better or richer than him, he feels ashamed of himself. 2)Joe’s and Magwitch’s love revives Pip’s kindheartedness Joe always loves Pip no matter what position Pip is. Magwitch uses the money he earns in Australia by hard working to make Pip educated, only because Pip helped him long long ago. So, when Pip realizes love , not the other things ,is important, he becomes kindhearted. 5. the lesson from Pip The environment can affect people, but it is not crucial, if one can face up to the trouble and trys to change it and resolve it. What matters is that one knows what to do and what not to do. The future is within his own hands. True love can revolve love.

Motivation to Exercise: Social or Personal Factors?

Motivation to Exercise: Social or Personal Factors? Everybody needs to exercise regardless of ones age, gender, socio-economic status, or even physical or mental capabilities. Exercising can be in the form of sports, going to the gym or merely just walking around the housing area. According to Hornby (2005), the word exercise means activities; bodily activities such as moving the extremities or the trunk and psychological actions that is done in order to maintain health. According to Bouchard, Blair and Haskell (2007), exercise is basically considered as a repetitive psychical activity that is done to spend ones free time in order to sustain and increase a persons bodily robustness. Exercise, defined as planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness (National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel, 1996). Exercise:  physical activity carried out for the sake of health and fitness (Soanes Stevenson, 2004). Now the question is does everybody exercise ? Is motivation important in exercising? What usually motivates a person to exercise? We know the answer to the first question by just looking at the people around us. Not everyone we know exercise. Yes, motivation is very important to exercise. As that influences a person to exercises or not to exercise. A person who exercises generally has a motive or also widely known as motivation. Motivation, according to Hornby (2005) is the explanation for a person to act in a certain manner. Motivation:  the stimulus, incentive, or inducement to act or react in a certain way. Purposeful behavior is motivated behavior, which means that either physiologic or social stimuli activate or motivate a person to do something (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007). There are different aspects to motivation. It could be an external factor or an internal factor. External motivation:   incentive that accrues as a result of influence from outside sources; inducement to act or change based on the expectations and e xamples of other people. Internal motivation: incentive that accrues from within an individual; inducement to act or change based on an inherent or intrinsic desire (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007). Motivation to exercise would vary between one person to the other. It could be to lose weight, to maintain their body figure, to increase ones self esteem, to spend time with friends or to stay healthy by avoiding degenerative diseases such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease, and hypertension. This research focuses on the two factors that contribute to the motivating a person to exercise which are the social factors and the personal factors. What is a social factor? According to Hornby (2005), the word social is defined as associated with actions that revolve around folks so that they get to congregate for contentment. The word factor according to Hornby (2005) means the reason to engage in an activity. Social motivation: an incentive or drive resulting from a sociocultural influence that init iates behavior toward a particular goal. (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007) The social factors that is tested in this study are time spend with friends, wining in physical activities over friends, fitting in social circle and so on. What is personal factor? According to Hornby (2005), the word personal means that a person has possession of something and others do not own it. Self-motivated: motivated to do something because of ones own enthusiasm or interest, without needing pressure from others, acting on ones own initiative without external pressure (Soanes Stevenson, 2003). The personal factors that are tested in this research are that exercising gives people the time to think, to keep ones body healthy and so on. One theoretical perspective that appears useful for understanding various motivational issues in physical activity settings is self-determination theory (SDT; Deci Ryan, 2002). SDT accounts for the quality of motivation regulating behavior, as well as, the processes that facilitate motivational development (Deci Ryan, 2002) that holds considerable appeal for understanding why people initiate, persist, and terminate their involvement in various physical activities (Hagger Chatzisarantis, 2007). According to Deci and Ryan (2002), basic psychological needs represent innate nutriments (p. 7) that when satisfied authentically within social contexts promote integration, adaptation, and directly impact well-being. In contrast, environments that stifle opportunities to satisfy basic psychological needs provoke ill-being (Deci Ryan, 2002). SDT proposes that motivation is multidimensional and resides along a continuum of self-determination ranging from amotivation (i.e. when a person lacks the motivation to act) through extrinsic motivation (i.e. when a person acts in response to external cues) to intrinsic motivation (i.e. when a person acts for the inherent pleasure derived from that particular activity) (Deci and Ryan, 1985). The basic psychological needs for competence (effectively mastering challenging tasks within ones environment; Deci Ryan, 2002), autonomy (feeling a sense of ownership over ones behaviors such that they stem from an internal perceived locus of causality; Deci Ryan, 2002), and relatedness (feeling a meaningful connection with others in ones social milieu; Deci Ryan, 2002) have long been advocated within the SDT framework as fundamental to human development and well-being. SDT also considers that what goal a person holds for the activity will be important for a number of outcomes (Deci Ryan, 2002).. The content of goals can be classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic (Kasser Ryan, 1996). Intrinsic goals, such as the formation of social relationships and self-development, stem from a persons core values and are inherently rewarding to pursue. As such, they promote self determined behavior and well-being (Furnham et al., 2002). In a study conducted by Fontaine et al. (2002) based in an African American Apostolic church, 48 participants completed measures of social support, health-related quality of life, depression, exercise self-efficacy, and exercise motivation and then participated in an exercise program for 6 months. Exercise Motivation Inventory used to determine the personal motivations to participate in an exercise program comprised 14 subscales: stress management, revitalization, enjoyment, challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition, health pressures, ill-health avoidance, positive health, weight management, appearance, strength and endurance, and nimbleness, where a higher score predicted a higher motivation. This study found that, in this community, people with high scores on affiliation were more likely to attend the exercise program. The authors concluded that exercise adherence is a complicated phenomenon that is influenced by a variety of environmental, personal, and social factor s. Social factors, in particular, may be important in promoting adherence to an exercise program in African Americans. However, it must be noted that the sample size for this study was small which prohibited the use of multivariate statistical techniques (i.e., logistic regression) to evaluate the predictive value of the study variables (Fontaine et al., 2002). In another study conducted by Gillison (2001) using a sample of 580 British schoolchildren, a model grounded in self-determination theory was explored to examine the effects of exercise goals on exercise motivation, leisure-time exercise behavior. Exercise goal content was measured using the Reasons for Exercise Inventory. Motivation towards exercise was measured using The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire. This study hypothesized that self-determined motivation would partially mediate the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic goal content and leisure-time exercise. Intrinsic (and therefore more adaptive) goals for exercise can persist despite the presence of body related anxiety. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that adolescents perceiving themselves to be overweight and pressurized to lose weight endorsed extrinsic weight-related goals for exercise. Extrinsic goals negatively predicted, whereas intrinsic goals positively predicted, self-determined motivation, which in turn positively predicted exercise behavior. Self-determined motivation partially mediated the effects of exercise goals on reported exercise behavior. Results suggest that holding extrinsic exercise goals could compromise exercise participation levels. Teachers and parents are proposed with the aim of orienting young people towards intrinsic goals in an attempt to enhance future exercise behavior. It was hypothesized that self-determined motivation would positively predict participants leisure-time exercise. Conversely, extrinsic goals stem from aims to achieve outcomes separable from the activity it self, such as wealth and status, and are usually formed in response to external pressures. Extrinsic exercise goals negatively predicted, while intrinsic goals positively predicted, levels of self-determined motivation. In turn, greater self-determination in motivation predicted higher levels of leisure-time exercise. Fostering intrinsic goals could be beneficial for improving the mental health and exercise behavior in adolescents (Gillison, 2001). Dishman, Hales, Ward, Pfeiffer, Felton, Saunders, Dowda and Pate (2006), conducted a study on 1250 girls (39% White, 54.6% Black and 3.9% Others) whose mean age are of 17.66 years old from public high schools in South Carolina. The results of their study indicated that as bodily actions and partaking in games increases in an individual, their general perception of ones physical self increases too. General perception of ones physical self in this study focuses on aspects such as power, stamina, looks, and skills in a game. This means that people take part in games and exercise to increase their self-esteem or skills to avoid psychological conditions like depression. Although this study was conducted only among females and of those in the youth category, the results can still be applied to people of all ages and all walk of lives as exercising and its motivation are applicable for everyone. Ekeland, Heian, and Hagen (2005) conducted a study on 1821 kids and youngsters on the relationship between self-esteem and exercising. They discovered that physical activity is highly related positively with self-esteem. As the number of participants is high, the results can be well substantiated. On the other hand, there are many social factors that seem to be more convincing as compared to personal factors in predicting the motivation on exercising. Group cohesion plays an important role in this content. It contributes a positive connection on exercising regarding different aspects of group. All individuals that formed a group will become more significant. A persons act is influence by a group. It has been proven that there are effective associations between the mutual effort and conceptions of stay in a group. Abele and Ehrhart (as cited in Spink, Wilson, Priebe, 2010) proposed that as peoples thought themselves and others were in the same group, peoples were put more efforts toward the task that they work together. There are five specific variables identified by Carron Hausenblas (1998). The five variables are common fate, mutual benefit, social structure, group processes, and self-categorization. Common fate can be described as an event that joins by all the group membe rs and they share the same consequences together (Fiedler, 1967). Mutual benefit implies that the requirements obtained among the group members in a certain works (Bass, 1960).Whereas social structure can be defined as the position and duty in a group (Sherif Sherif, 1956). Shaw (1981) commented group processes as the conversation and useful interactions that take place within a group. The last variable that is self-categorization implies a sense of belongingness in one group (Brown, 1988). The five variables play an important role in the social aspect part to determine the motivation towards exercising. There is hypothesis on the five variables; common fate, mutual benefit, social structure, group processes, and self-categorization have a definite connection to the self-report regarding the devotion in an exercising activities (Spink, Wilson, Priebe, 2010). There are four evidences that support this hypothesis. Previous research conducted by Massie Shephard (1971) showed that th e attendance is higher in group-based exercise programs than individual or family ones. Steers Rhodes (1978) found out that there is a different type of adherence; energy expenditure can be seen in individual that more apprehend on group aspects in their structured exercise assembly. Furthermore, groupness can be considered to be related to adherence in exercise programs as members show more interest in remaining in a group through the cohesion mechanism that aid in fasten peoples together (Fraser Spink, 2002). Another factor that motivates exercising is exercising with the presence of friends. This happens especially in low-self monitoring individuals. The character that friend act in a persons life is significant as considered in the amount of time spend, variability of activities and role that friend can play. By viewing in this context, the fact that friend plays an important role in an individuals lives cannot be deny. It is an important matter to choose a compatible friend to engage in social activities particularly in exercising. Some knowledge and skills on the appropriate way to perform the activities is useful if all of these own by the friend (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). The exercise that carry out seem to be much more easier if one is accompanied by friend that displayed competence and expertise in performing particular activities (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). One that is get motivated will do more effort in displaying his or her competency and expertise and act in a suitable way in carry out certain exercise because of the opportunity that he or she received from friend that considered specialist in an activity (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). There is also fact that friend will affect one in exercise through the mindset, affection, and choice towards partner that one will carry out physical activities with (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). The extent to which a person shows his or her liking towards the partner will influence a person in engaging in an activity. There are people who look for coherence between their attitude and course of action in real life. In this case, people particularly in low-self monitoring person will be more likely to spend their time with their preferred partner. Correspond to this; the person will increase their approach towards specific peoples in their social circle and also their behavioral preference in the activities with those that they preferred (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). There are some differences between high-self monitoring and low-self monitoring people in selecting their social partner. In general, the presence of friend is substantial in boosting the attitude in engaging social activities like exercise. Belza, Walwick, Schwartz, LoGerfo, Shiu-Thornton, Taylor (2004), conducted their study on 71 adults (42 females and 29 males) with their mean age being 71.6 years old on seven groups that differ in ethnicity and their mother-tongue in America such as the African American, American Indian, Native Alaskan, etc where almost 35 of them exercise on a regular basis. The participants were asked on what drove them to exercise (eg: wellbeing looks, able to hang around wi th people and so on). They found that most the participants believe that they exercise because they it benefits them both in the social aspect and health purposes (to manage constant conditions such as ache, high blood pressure, arthritis and high glucose level in the blood). He also found that when a persons overall motivation (social and personal) drops, his or her bodily activity level drops as well. This study is done to investigate whether personal factors or social factors contribute more motivation to exercise. Theory of self-efficacy, which states that the more individuals believe in their ability to perform a course of action and in the positive outcomes of those actions, the more likely they will be to initiate and persist in a given activity (Bandura, 1997). Bandura (1997) describes four sources of information that influence self-efficacy expectations (and presumably outcome expectations) and consequently actual behavior: performance of the activity, verbal encouragement from others, exposure to role models, and physiological feedback or physical sensations experienced during the activity. In a study aimed at establishing what aspects of self-efficacy theory helped initiate and engage in regular exercise, and what decreased the willingness to exercise, a total of 148 older adults from 12 Senior Centers participated, with the majority of the participants being female African American. Findings support the use of the theory of self-efficacy to change behavior among minority older adults. In this study, the extrinsic incentives were emphasized to motivate the participants. The motivational component of the program included verbal encouragement and goal setting with small incentive gifts for goal achievement, cueing to exercise through the use of written material and calendars, and role modeling of exercise through exposure to the lay exercise leader and other group members. The participants in this study specifically recognized the importance of social supports as a source of motivation to exercise. The participants reported that it was laziness that prevented them from exercising, and they needed the group interaction to motivate them to come to exercise class. This external force helped participants to rekindle old exercise habits, to initiate an exercise program, or to increase the amount of exercise they did. This study was limited in that it included only older adults who volunteered to participate in an exercise program and regularly attended senior centers (Lu isi et al., 2006). Methodology Participants Data was collected from 27th up to 31st January 2011. There were 130 subjects (51 males and 79 females) who filled the survey completely. The age range was from 18 to 65 years old and the mean age was 22.669 years old. The data was consisting of 58 Malay, 17 Chinese, 21 Indians, and 34 participants from other race such as; Korean, African, Sikh, Arabian, Pakistani and Mauritanian. We also asked their perspective of their body weight by rating the scale which provided inside the demographic (refer to appendix B). We did a convenience sampling survey in Petaling Jaya and Johor. Refer to table 1. Demographic Mean Frequency Percentages Age Gender Male Female Total Ethnicity Malay Chinese Indian Others Total Perspective of body weight Underweight Normal Overweight Obese Total 22.669 130 51 79 130 17 58 21 34 130 9 99 20 2 130 100 39.2 60.8 100 13.1 44.6 16.2 26.2 100 6.9 76.2 15.4 1.5 100 Measurement The survey questions were adapted from The Exercise Motivation Inventory (Markland and Hardy, 1993) questionnaire. However, we selected and modified some of the questions. In total, there was 20 Questions inside our survey which contained of 10 Social Factor question and 10 Personal Factor Question. This survey used a 5 scale; Not Important=1, Less Important= 2, Neutral=3, Moderately important=4, and Very Important=5. The measurement was appropriate for our study because it was not only asking people who do any exercise regularly such as fitness but also for people who do not regularly exercise. The questionnaire was referring to healthiness, diet and body shape, and environment relation. Furthermore, EMI is suitable to be assigned to younger (at least 18 years old) and older people. Procedure First, we developed the survey and delivered it to course instructor. After receiving the approval we then can started collecting the data. The participants were asked by the researchers to fill the survey voluntarily. After they agreed, they were given a consent form and the survey form. All information about this study was clearly written down on the consent form. It took approximately 10 minutes to fill the survey and participants may withdraw from the study anytime when they feel unsecure or disturbed. After they fully filled the survey, they may give it back to the researchers and leave. We found some problems while collecting the data, some of the subjects refuse to join this study because they do not understand the English language properly, they needed to go to their next class, below the minimum age or just refused to participate without any reason. Results To investigate the relationship between types of motivation and level of motivation, a Paired Sample T-Test was used. As seen in Table 2, there is a significant relationship between types of motivation and level of motivation, t (129) = 8.479, p Table 2 Mean Differences Between Personal Factors and Social Factors that motivate Exercising Variable   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mean   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  df  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  t   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personal Factors Social Factors Older Adult Perspectives on Physical Activity and Exercise: Voices From Multiple Cultures Basia Belza, PhD, RN, Julie Walwick, MSW, Sheryl Schwartz, PhD, James LoGerfo, MD, MPH, Sharyne Shiu-Thornton, PhD, and Mary Taylor, BSN, RN (2004) Bouchard, C., Blair, S. N., Haskell, W. L. (2007). Physical activity and health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Dishman, R.K., Hales, D.P., Pfeiffer, K.A., Felton,G., Saunders,R., Ward, D.S., Dowda,M. and Pate, R.R. (2006). Physical Self-Concept and Self-Esteem Mediate Cross-Sectional Relations of Physical Activity and Sports Participation With Depression Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls. Health Psychology, 25(3), 396-407. Ekeland,E., Heian, F., Hagen, K.B.(2005). Can exercise improve se;f-esteem in children and young people? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39, 792-798. Hornby, A.S.(2005). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press.

Effect of Intoxication on Generosity | Article Analysis

Effect of Intoxication on Generosity | Article Analysis In their 50th  volume, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published an article named â€Å"Focused On Fairness: Alcohol Intoxication Increases the Costly Rejection of Inequitable Rewards† in which they explored the effects of alcohol regarding an individuals propensity to accept a deal in with there exists unfair rewards. In the first study, participants were recruited from outside of bars in Pittsburg, PA between 9pm and 3am to play a modified ultimatum game with economical rewards. This type of field experiment was chosen in order to both find a pool of subjects that were unfamiliar with psychological studies and experimental economic games, as well as allow for participants to drink to their preferred level of intoxication, which may differ from what they would have been subjected to in a lab setting. Subjects had their BAC tested and then proceeded to be isolated in cubicles where they would complete the experiment. Subjects were led to believe they were playi ng against another live human, but in actuality they were playing against a computer program. Subjects were given 100 cents to play with in each round, deciding how much to offer their partner and how much to keep for themselves, and then would submit their offers to their partner who would either accept or reject the offer and then proceed to begin a new round with the roles having been switched. The computer program that the participants played with would accept any offer >30 cents and refuse any offer The experiment essentially proved that while intoxication may have no effect on generosity or equitability of offers, it did have an effect on a subject’s propensity to reject unfair offers. Higher BAC reflected an increased likelihood of rejecting an unfair proposal, yet it had no bearing on likelihood of proposing or accepting generous and/or fair offers.

Allies For Freedom :: Essays Papers

Allies For Freedom Introduction The reason I choose â€Å"Allies For Freedom† is because I am very interested in slaves and how they gained their freedom. I also wanted to learn about the famous â€Å" john brown† and everything this man did to change history. This book looked interesting to me because it covers not only just john brown but also other allies for the slaves. I wanted to see the different views of the people during slavery. This book also interested me because I knew he was raised in Ohio and I thought to relate to his views from being born and raised in Ohio also. This is a very important subject in history. Slavery changed American history and how we view things today. This book helps us see and understand that not all people were for slavery and there were people willing to give or risk their lives to do something they believe in. the main person this book is about is john brown. To me he is a hero that opened up opportunities for many blacks and slaves. John brown was a main leader for abolitionist. He led Harpers Ferry with 21 men. They cut telegraph wires, and then made their attack. First the captured the federal armory and arsenal. Then the Hall’s Rifle Works, and supplier of weapons to the government. Then they got 60 citizens of the town and held them as hostages. Hoping that their slaves help them in the fight, but none did. Brown also led a murder of five proslavery men. He led many abolitionists like himself in the fight against slavery. Benjamin Quarles, the author of â€Å" allies for freedom†, was a noted author, editor, and historian, and the first African American to be published in what became the journal of American history. He has written many books on slavery and abolitionists. He tried, through his books and writings, to show the Declaration of Independence and the rights it gave to the blacks and slaves. Benjamin Quarles is a very experienced author. He has written many book and novels on the topic. I think that the purpose that the author was trying to give the reader was to inform and educate them about slavery and abolitionists. The author tells about john brown and how he stood up for slaves and the equality of all men. Benjamin Quarles points out all the problems about slavery and America during this time.

The Curse Of Right And Wrong :: essays research papers

THE CURSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG Many people treat ethics like a good set of dishes, something to be saved just for special occasions. A monitor poll shows that most Americans think that their country's moral standards are falling and that stronger families must be the solution. Widespread evidence of moral decay can be found in nearly every American city. Things such as sleazy movies, vulgar TV shows, neglected children, and broken families are the type of things most people oppose. In every major region in the country, a majority of people polled agreed that the Nations values have weakened since the 1950's. That view is particularly evident in the South and West. However, there is evidence that shows morality could have also been a problem in our Nations history, especially in politics. President Thomas Jefferson faced longstanding rumors about sexual involvement with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. President Grover Cleveland laid to rest accusations about fathering an illegitimate child by taking responsibility for that child. In recent years politicians have been caught with prostitutes and survived. Others have admitted to infidelity and seen their political careers plummet. The fact that morality seems to be in decline may be, in large part, due to the media. Advancements in technology have made it possible for peoples lives to be quickly and more widely known; therefore, making the public more aware of what is happening.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Americans look for something to blame for declining morals, they point straight at the media, particularly the entertainment media, and especially TV. Jason Sines of Chase, Md., says 'the worst is television.'; He notes that TV is readily available in the home, and harder to avoid. Other sources like magazines, movies and other media require a trip to the store or the theater. Sines views are widely shared. More than 3 out of 4 Americans say that the values portrayed on television are getting worse. Because of this, children are much more aware of things they shouldn't know about until later in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'Effects of the 'moral climate' also show up with children, who often reflect both physical and emotional neglect,'; says Ann Echard, a second grade teacher, 'in part because their parents are struggling to keep their heads above the water, and in part simply because some parents are just being selfish.'; When Americans search for answers to moral problems, they often look to the family.

Leadership Theories and Concepts

Evolution of leadership theories 1) The Great man Theory (Trait Theories) These were basis of leadership research until 1940’s. The great man theory from Aristoteham philosophy asserts that some people are born to lead whereas others are born to be led. Trait theory(ies) assume that some people have certain characteristics or personality trait that make them better leaders than others. (refer to traits as stipulated by Bass (notes) Behavioral Theories During human relations era, many behavioural and social scientists studying management also studied leadership.Emphasis was on what the leader did – leaders style of leadership (Lewin 1951) and White & LippiH (1960) came up with leadership styles: i) Authoritarian ii) Democratic & leissez-faire Authoritarian leader is characterized by the following behaviours (refer previous notes also) i) Strong control is maintained over the work group. ii) Others are motivated by coercion. iii) Others are directed with commands. iv) Com munication flows downwards. v) Decision making does not involve others. vi) Emphasis is on difference in status (â€Å"I† and â€Å"you†). ii) Criticism is punitive (should be constructive) Productivity is high but creativity, self motivation and autonomy are reduced. Authoritarian leadership is useful in crisis situations and frequently found in large bureaucrasis such as Armed Forces. Democratic leader exhibits the following behaviours * Less control is maintained. * Economic and ego awards are used to motivate. * Others are directed thorough suggestions and guidance. * Communication flows up and down. * Decision making involves others. * Emphasis is on â€Å"we† rather than â€Å"I† and â€Å"you†. * Criticism is constructive.Because many people have to be consulted it takes time and therefore frustrating to these who wants modified. Leissez-Fair Leader * Is permissive with little or no control. * Motivate by support when requested by the group or individuals. * Provides little or no direction. * Uses upward and downward communication – members of group. * Places emphasis on the group and does not criticize. * Leissezfare leadership is appropriate when problems are poorly defined and brainstorming is needed to generate alternative solutions. Situational & Contingency Leadership Theories:No one leadership style is ideal for every situation Situational Theories: Leaders are product of a given situation. It supports the follower theory which states that people will follow people who they see as means of accomplishing their personal ends. Contingency Theory .The theory urgues that leaders must alter their style in a manner consistent with the aspects of the context Combines traits and situation. People become leaders because of their responsibility and situational factors. * Leader subordinate relationship (a leader/people to lead). The extent to which the leader is liked, trusted and respected by followers. * The task structure, whether jobs are structured and clarified. The position power and degree of influence a leader has over the group e. g. hire or fire, discipline promotes rewards and 1. Blake and Moutonris managerial grid 9 roles of managerial gnd). The managerial grid Five leadership styles are plotted in four quadrants of a two dimensional grid. The grid depicts various degrees of leader 1. Impoverished – Low concern for both production and people. 2. Authority compliance – high concern for production and low concern for people. . Middle of the road – moderate concern for production and people. 4. Country club – High concern for people and low concern for production. 5. Team – High concern for both production and people. MANAGERIAL GRID 91. 9 Country club9. 9 Team 8 Concern for people 7 6 55. 5 Middle of the road 4 3 2 1 1. 1 Impoverished9. 1 Authority Compliance 0123456789 Concern for production Continuum of leadership behavior Leadership is depicted as occurring along a continuum. It focuses on decision making styles of managers let and continuum – reflects a manager’s centred style.Managers are autocratic and directive and simply makes and announces decisions. At the right end, managers are employee centred. They use a laissez-faire style and permit employees to set their own goals and function within established parameters. NB: No leadership style is appropriate/correct for every management situation. Manager centred leadershipEmployee centred leadership Use of Authority by The manager Area of freedom for employees * incentives. Contemporary Theories of Leadership i) Schein (1970) – Systems Theory. SYSTEM 4 MANAGEMENT Developed by Likert.It is based on the premise that involving employees in decisions about work is central to effective leadership. It has four dimensions based on increasing levels of employee’s involvement. 1. Autocratic leaders – have little trust in employees and exclude th em in decision making. 2. Benevolent leaders – Are kind to employees but still do not involve them in decision making. 3. Consultative leaders – Seek employee’s advice about decisions. 4. Participative or democratic leaders – they value employees involvement, team work and team building.They also have high levels of confidence in employees and seek consensus in decision making. Transformational Leadership Burns (1978) suggested that both leaders and followers have the ability to raise each other to higher levels of motivation and morality. He identified this concept as transformational leadership. He maintained that there are two types of leaders in management. 1. The traditional manager, concerned with the day to day operations was termed as Transactional Leader. 2. The manager who is committed, has a vision and is able to empower others with this vision was termed as Transformational leader.Differences between the two: Transactional LeaderTransformation al Leader * Focuses on management tasks. – Identifies common values. * Is caretaker (takes care of tasks. – Is committed (extra mile). * Uses tradeoffs to meet goals. – Inspires others with vision. * Shared values not identified. – Has longterm vision. * Examiner causes. – Looks at effects. * Uses contingency rewards. – Empowers others. Vision is the essence of transformational leadership. Vision implies the ability to picture some future state and describe it to others so they will begin to share the dream.Wolf and colleagues (1994) defined transformational leadership as an interactive relationship based on trust that positively impacts both the leader and the follower. * The purposes of the leader and follower become focused, crating unity, wholeness and collective purpose. Transformational leaders are able to crate change because of their futuristic focus, values, creativity and innovations. * They value organizational culture and values strongly perpetuating these some values and behaviours in their staff. â€Å"Visioning is the mark of transformational leader; visionary leadership allows nurses to create a picture of an ideal future.In sharing these visions the transformational leader empowers staff to find a common ground and a sense of connection. Transformational leaders do the following to achieve results: i. Involve stakeholders (including staff) from the outset when change occurs. ii. Focus on the quality of service. iii. Use non-hierarchical teams with devolved leadership. iv. Create supportive and informal culture. v. Implement successful change leadership. Important concepts in leading/directing Supervision (overseeing) Supervision is another leadership behavior.It includes inspecting another’s work, evaluating his/her performance and approving or correcting performance. Good supervision is facilitative because a good supervisor inspects work in progress and can remedy inadequate performance befor e serious consequences develop. The intensity of supervision should match situational requirements, employees needs and managers leadership skills. Supervision must be appropriate in type and intensity for work groups members to interact effectively e. g. technical nurses need closer supervision than professional nurses. Intensity of supervision should also depend on manger-caregiver ration.A manager can effectively supervise a large number of subordinates when they are confined in a small area, perform similar jobs and are fairly educated. The purpose of supervision is to inspect, evaluate and improve worker performance. Therefore a criteria is needed for judging the quality of work processes and outcomes. Job description and associated performance standards provide such evaluation criteria. The following performance elements should be appraised. 1. Quantity of work output 2. Quality of output 3. Time use 4. Conservation of resources 5. Assistance to co-workers 6. Support of admini strators Co-ordinationThis is another leadership activity. It includes all activities that enable work group members to work together harmoniously. Co-ordination ensures that everything that needs to be done is done and that no two people are doing the same thing (or duplication of activity). Coordinating means: 1. Distributing authority 2. Providing channels of communication 3. Arranging work so that the * Right things are done. * At the right time * In the right place * In the right way * By the right people The overall results of coordination should be orderly work, harmonious, efficient and successful activities CommunicationManagement is working through others in order to achieve organizational goals. Therefore a manager must be able to communicate ideas, opinions, requests and directions effectively to co-workers. Effective communications consist of transmitting an accurate message to the proper recipients at the appropriate time in a manner that conserves the senders and rece ivers energy, followed by checking that the intended message was received. Communication can therefore be defined as the exchange of information or understanding between a sender (source) and a receiver (audience).It includes verbal and non verbal through which meaning is conveyed to others. Silence is also considered as communication since it can also convey a meaning. The process involves a message which is encoded and transmitted through some medium to a receiver who decodes the message and then a feedback to the sender. Communication model: Methods of communication (channels) Receiver Sender Message Feedback Giving feedback indicates understanding of the message; hence there is effective two way communication which is necessary for effective management: ORGANIZATION COMMUNICATION: (give a handout)Formal channels of communication: Those are the official paths prescribed by the management which generally follow the organizational chain of command: information may be communicated i n several ways: a. Downward communication b. Upward communication c. Horizontal communication Downward communication: The information flows down the organizational hierarchy from managers to subordinates and the objectives of this four of communication is: * To give directives. The staff is told what needs to be done or given information to facilitate the job to be done e. g. procedure guidelines. Upward Communication:Occurs from staff to management or from lower management to middle or upper management. It mainly involves reporting pertinent information to facilitate problem solving and decision making. It reveals problem areas, indicates status of worker ‘s morale and makes workers feel part of the organization. Horizontal communication: This is routinely achieved through committees or teams e. g. Outpatient management teams, clerical teams. Committees provide a mechanism for representatives of different organizational units at similar levels to discuss common problems and p otential problems face to face.This is time consuming, expensive and their decisions are often compromises that may represent ineffectual solution. Lateral Communication: Occurs between individuals or departments at the same hierarchical level (e. g. nurse managers). Diagonal Communication: Involves individuals or departments at different hierarchical levels (staff nurse to chief of medical staff). Both lateral and diagonal communication involves information sharing, discussion and negotiation. Informal Communication: An informal channel seen in organization is the grapevine (i. e. rumours and gossips).This is often rapid, haphazard and prone to distortion. Managers can control negative aspects of the grapevine by communicating accurately, timely information, by maintaining and activating open channels of communication in all directions and by moving quickly to correct inaccurate information. BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION 1. Environmental Barriers: (Noise, Attention, Time) a. Noise â₠¬â€œ Can cause misunderstanding since it makes it difficult for one to hear. b. Attention – Multiple and Simultaneous demands on the sender may cause the message content to be packaged inappropriately (phone, signing documents). c.Time – If less, the sender may have little opportunity to completely think through structure the message to be conveyed, while to the receiver there is inadequate opportunity to ascertain its meaning. 2. Philosophy, Levels, Power Status a. Philosophy – an organization that is not interested in promoting communication upward or downward will certainly establish procedural and organizational blockages. E. g. inaccessibility to superiors, lack of interest in employees, insufficient time to receive information, retard communication flow, lack of action with regard to complaints, ideas, and problems tend to discourage flow of information.Multiple levels in an organization hierarchy tend to cause message distortion. b. Levels: When multiple links exists in the communication chain information will be rearranged as it is transmitted to other receivers. c. Power status relationship: This can also distort or inhibit transmission of message. A discordant superior-subordinate relationship can dampen the flow and content of information. In health organizations it is quite common e. g. patients may not question the doctor or a very experienced nurse may not tell a doctor that the treatment is wrong! d.Terminology and Complexity of the message: Words mean specific things to those who are familiar with them and tend to minimize misunderstanding vice versa. Complexity of message with terminology that may be unfamiliar to the receiver will obviously lead to misunderstanding of the message. COMMUNICATION IN GROUPS / TEAMS A GROUP:- A group is an aggregate of individual who interact and mutually influence each other. We have two types of Groups Formal Groups These are clusters of individuals designated by an organization to perform specified organ tasks. Taskforces, committees teams e. injection control team. Informal Groups Groups that evolve from social interactions that are not defined by an organizational structure. e. g People who take levels together who convince sponeneously to discuss a clinical dilemma. A. Teams Teams are real groups in which individuals must work co0operatively with other in order to achieve some goals. They demonstrate healthy interdependence. A team is composed of a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals and approach for which they held themselves mutually accountable.Teams have commend or line authonty to perform tasks and membership is based on the specific skills required to accomplish the task. Phases of GROUP AND formation Concepts/ leaves develop in the following phases 1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing 5. Adjourning 1. Forming This is the initial stage of group development in which indivi dual members assemble into a well defined cluster ( members get to know each other, and very cautions. 2. Storming The second stage of group department, in which group members develop ** and relationship; competition and conflict generally occur. . Norming 3rd stage of Group development. The Group defines its goals and rules of behavior. They define acceptable and unacceptable behavior attitudes. They define acceptable and unacceptable behavior attitudes ** develops. 4. performing (4th stage) The members agree on basic purposes and activities and came out the work. Cooperation improves and emotional issues subside. Members communicate effectively and interact in a relaxed atmosphere of sharing. 5. Adjourning This is the final stage of group development, in which a group dissolves after achieving its objectives.Team building/ team development. This is a group development technique that focuses on task and relationship aspects of group functioning in order to build team cohesiveness. Team building involves a) Gathering data through individual interviews, questioners and or group meetings a benefit the team and its functioning. b) Digressing the team strengths and arcsine need of development. c) Helding semi- structural retreat sessions usually ducted by an experienced facilitator aimed at addressing priority team problem. Characteristics of effective teams 1. Clear objectives and agreed goals . Openness and confrontation 3. Support and trust 4. Co-operation and conflict 5. Sound procedures 6. Appropriate leadership 7. Regular review 8. Individual development 9. Sound intergroup relations Communicating in Groups Characteristics of Groups 1) Norms: These are informal rule sin behaviour shared and enforced by group members e. g Time keeping, changing of shifts. Roles A role is a set of expected behaviors that fit together into a unified whole and are characteristic of persons in a given context. Roles commonly seen in groups can be classified as auther; Task RolesN urturing roles or social emotional roles Individuals performing task roles attempt to keep group focused on its goals. STATUS This is a social ranking of individual relative to others in a group based on the position they occupy. Status comes from factors the group values such as achievement, personal characteristics the ability to control rewards or the ability to control information. Higher status members often exercise more influence in group decisions than others. In Summary Communication is influenced by the status and roles of the individuals who dominate team discussions. e. High – status members who are fulfilling key roles in relation to a teams priorities are likely to exercise considerable control over communication in the group by determining topics, setting the tone of the discussions and influencing how decisions are made. Communicating with others in the clinical setting 1. Communicating with supervisions Communicate with supervision to develop a good working r elationship. 1. Always observe professional courtesy. 2. incase of any problem, follow the policy and procedure of the organization 3. If not an emergency, request for an appointment, to discuss the problem further.This demonstrates right time and place. 4. State the concern clearly and accurately. 5. Provide supporting evidence 6. State a willingness to co-operate in finding the solution. 7. Match behaviors to words. Communicating with co-workers * To collectively provide quality patients care, nurses depend on co-workers and this requires effective communication. * Do unto others as you wound have them do into you * Your perspective should be that all members of the team are important to successfully realize quality patient care. * Appreciate others for work well done * Offer constructive feedback Be open to the possibility that coworkers especially those with experience have some wisdom to share with you. Communicating with others practitioners * Always introduce yourself to othe r practitioners. ( or if you are the manager, introduce new gradates. Students to other practitioners) * Be honest and up front. Ask something that you are not aware off. * Show respect and consideration for other practitioners you work with ( But don’t be a dormant) * Present information in a straight forward manner, clearly delineating the problem supported by pertinent evidence. Document well especially if the expected actions were not done in the incident book. MOTIVATION Motivation describes the factors that initiate and direct behavior. Therefore a nurse manager’s most important leadership task is to maximize subordinates work motivation because employees bring to the organization different needs and goals, the type and intensity of motivators vary among employees. Therefore the nurse manager must know which needs the employee expects to satisfy through employment and should be able to predict, which needs will be satisfied through the job duties of each nursing position.Importance of Motivation Motivation is a very important for an organization because of the following benefits it provides:- 1. Puts human resources into action Every concern requires physical, financial and human resources to accomplish the goals. It is through motivation that the human resources can be utilized by making full use of it. This can be done by building willingness in employees to work. This will help the enterprise in securing best possible utilization of resources. 2. Improves level of efficiency of employees The level of a subordinate or a employee does not only depend upon his qualifications and abilities.For getting best of his work performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level of performance of subordinates. This will result into- a. Increase in productivity, b. Reducing cost of operations, and c. Improving overall efficiency. 3. Leads to achievement of organizational goals The goals of an enterpr ise can be achieved only when the following factors take place :- d. There is best possible utilization of resources, e. There is a co-operative work environment, f. The employees are goal-directed and they act in a purposive manner, g.Goals can be achieved if co-ordination and co-operation takes place simultaneously which can be effectively done through motivation. 4. Builds friendly relationship Motivation is an important factor which brings employees satisfaction. This can be done by keeping into mind and framing an incentive plan for the benefit of the employees. This could initiate the following things: h. Monetary and non-monetary incentives, i. Promotion opportunities for employees, j. Disincentives for inefficient employees. In order to build a cordial, friendly atmosphere in a concern, the above steps should be taken by a manager.This would help in: a. Effective co-operation which brings stability, b. Industrial dispute and unrest in employees will reduce, c. The employees will be adaptable to the changes and there will be no resistance to the change, d. This will help in providing a smooth and sound concern in which individual interests will coincide with the organizational interests, e. This will result in profit maximization through increased productivity. 1. Leads to stability of work force Stability of workforce is very important from the point of view of reputation and goodwill of a concern.The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise only when they have a feeling of participation in the management. The skills and efficiency of employees will always be of advantage to employees as well as employees. This will lead to a good public image in the market which will attract competent and qualified people into a concern. As it is said, â€Å"Old is gold† which suffices with the role of motivation here, the older the people, more the experience and their adjustment into a concern which can be of benefit to the enterprise. From the above disc ussion, we can say that otivation is an internal feeling which can be understood only by manager since he is in close contact with the employees. Needs, wants and desires are inter-related and they are the driving force to act. These needs can be understood by the manager and he can frame motivation plans accordingly. We can say that motivation therefore is a continuous process since motivation process is based on needs which are unlimited. The process has to be continued throughout. We can summarize by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a business. Motivation is important to an individual as: 1.Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals. 2. If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction. 3. Motivation will help in self-development of individual. 4. An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team. Similarly, motivation is important to a business as: 1. The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team i s. 2. The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable and successful is the business. 3. During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity. 4.Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place. Motivational theories (REFER TO NOTES ON NEOCLASSICAL THEORISTS) Motivational theories were concerned with three things: a. What mobilizes or energizes human behavior. b. What directs behavior towards the accomplishment of some objectives. c. How such behavior is sustained over-time. Motivation theorists 1. Maslow Hierarchy of needs (5). 2. Alderfer – 3 need levels: Existence, relatedness, growth theories. 3. Herzbergs two factor theory 4. Skirine’s reinforcement theory – behavior modification (behavior becomes associated with a particular consequence.Consequences may be positive or negative. A positive reinforces reward, a negative reinforces like punishment. 5. Vrooms expectancy theory à ¢â‚¬â€œ emphasizes the role of rewards and this relationship to the performance of desired behavior. 6. Adams (equity theory) – the motivational theory that suggests that effort and job satisfaction depend on the degree of equity or 7. Goal Theory (locke). 8. Equity – the perception that one’s work contribution is rewarded in the same proportion that another person’s contribution is reward.

Prisons As Industry Essay

What is the most profitable industry in America? Weapons, oil and computer technology all offer high rates of return, but there is probably no sector of the economy as abloom with money as the privately run prison industry. Prison industry in recent years has become a high-profit business and it competes with industries such as the oil and gas industry. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine the industry as a whole. In examining the industry therefore, there shall be a cursory analysis of some salient point vis-à  -vis the prison industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A very important fact is that the prison industry came about because of the congestion in the various government-owned prisons in throughout the country. The demand for prisons seems to be ever increasing and the public prisons scattered all around the country are incapable of providing adequately for this. Nearly every prison in America is overcrowded and will continue to be so if new prisons do not spring up. So therefore, the aim of the prison industry is to make provisions for more space to keep dissidents at a lower cost than federal prisons can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, privately owned prisons are unique because demand for prisons is high, while supply of prisons is low.   That is what makes this industry so appealing. Thus, privately owned prisons are good substitutes for federally run services. Therefore, this brings us to the issue of prison privatization. This involves the transfer of running state-owned prisons to private industries to manage. Thus, by using the private sector to build or manage prisons, many states believe that they can reduce costs. Privatization of prisons can take various forms. This includes: Contracting out services: This is the most common form of prison privatization. Currently, 39 states in the US hire private firms to provide such services as medical and mental health treatment, drug treatment, education, staff training, and vocational training and counseling. Contracting out prison labor This also is another means of privatizing prisons. By putting prisoners to work and paying inmates competitive wages, many private companies are reducing prison costs for the government by withholding earnings for taxes, room and board, family support, and victim’s compensation. Such employment also gives prisoners the skills and work experience that will prepare them for the job market when they are released from prison. Construction and lease/purchasing Many states see private construction as a promising solution to the prison over crowding crisis. States normally finance construction by cash appropriations (a â€Å"pay-as-you-go† approach) or by issuing general obligation bonds The points above are some of the ways by which prisons by various states in the US. In another vein, privatization of prisons can also occur at the federal level. For instance, the Federal Government of the United States recently proposed contracting with a private firm for a new 500 bed minimum-secure facility for illegal aliens. In addition, the Bureau has considered contracting for facilities to house â€Å"special needs† prisoners, such as juveniles, women, protective custody cases, and for prisoners needing medical services. However, the federal government is wary in contracting out the more â€Å"mainstream† prisoners such as those imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institutions and the U.S. Penitentiary System. Nevertheless, the prison industry has raises certain questions. These questions must be answered before a deeper understanding and full grasp of the objectives of the industry can be achieved. The first question is that has the federal government abrogated its responsibility by privatizing prisons. In other words, Should the private sector be responsible for a function traditionally performed by the government sector? Evidence has shown that that prison privatization does not mean that the government relinquishes its responsibility. The government still would select the inmates to be placed in private prisons, choose the type of facility to be contracted out, oversee the contractor’s disciplinary practices and, most important, evaluate the contractor’s performance. Furthermore, another good question to be asked is whether service quality and flexibility is maintained or not? This is because some policy makers maintain that the quality of management in private prisons will tend to be high at first, because of competition and the desire to win contracts. However, they question the private sector’s ability to sustain high-quality standards. This is not true of the prison industry because contracting standards are likely to improve over time as more firms enter the market and competition increases. Periodic bidding creates incentives for firms to improve constantly the quality and cost-efficiency of their performance. These above questions, among others, are some of the questions to ask in order to have an enlightened grasp of the prison industry. Now, it is of necessity to look at the history of prison industry. Historically, prison population started to grow in the United States in the 70s. Statistically, one out of every hundred adults is now imprisoned. In order to curtail the unwanted rise in the number of inmates, larger sentences are being imposed on to act as deterrent and other policies, which are known as the ‘broken window’. They have introduced the ’three strike’ policy which means that if you are convicted of any 3 offences you will receive life which is a very good deterrent. The state of Virginia applies this always, and has managed to slow the growth of the population (Bratton 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the government has tried to seek alternative modes of punishing offenders instead of retaining them in the prison yards. Undauntedly however, the rate of offenders soars. This has gone a long way in boosting the prison industry. The industry is now much bigger than ever before worth around 40 billion dollars a year. Due to the overcrowding in state prisons and federal prisons, which are on average 34% over designed capacity according to the BJS report, the prison industry has to rely on private prisons. Many states enjoy the companies taking on the task of building the prisons and covering the costs and just charging the state per inmate, as the state tends to be a lot more lenient to a convicted felon in order to save money. So therefore, prison industry continues to soar high. Investors are now having good times because of their net profits from prison business. For example, the leading company in prison business, Corrections Corporation of America, has made a tremendous success in the business. The revenue of this company rose by 81% in 1995 alone. Again, Investors in Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, another leading prison industry,   have enjoyed an average return of 18 percent during the past five years and the company is rated by Forbes as one of the top 200 small businesses in the country as of today. The list goes on an on. Ten years ago, there were just five privately run prisons in the country, housing a population of 2.000. Nearly, a score of private firms run more than 100 prisons with about 62,000 beds today. That’s still less than five percent of the total market, but the industry is expanding fast, with the number of private prison beds expected to grow to 360,000 during the next decade. This could be said to be the reason why a recent headline in USA Today which says that; â€Å"Everybody’s Doin the Jailhouse Stock† In view of this, the prison industry is now a lucrative business. In fact, almost 30 states in the US have 28 states have passed legislation making it legal for private contractors to run correctional facilities and many more states are expected to follow suit. God knows maybe one day, the prison industry will take over as the most lucrative and cost-effective business. To summarize it all, there are many reasons why America has incarcerated more of its population than any other country including China, which has a much greater population. The main reason is still the fact that the prison industry is being portrayed as a business and companies are making money from crime. Therefore, toughening of laws by both the federal and state governments does not help matter. Therefore, one can safely conclude that prison industry has come to stay. What is to be done now is for the government to tighten laws on the establishment of privately owned correction centers across the States. This would go a long way in ensuring that the privately owned prisons function effectively as their public counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES Tonry M., 2004. Prisons and Imprisonment, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pages 12062-1206. Walker, S., Spohn, C., Dolone, M., 2004. The Color of Justice, Race Ethnicity, and Crime in America, 3rd Ed, Wadsworth Publishing. Scalia, J., August 2001. Federal Drug Offenders, 1999 with trends 1984-99, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Samaha, j., 2001. Criminal justice, 5th ed. Wadsworth publishing. Renshaw, B., December 1982. Prisoners 1925-1981, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Harrison, P., November 2004. Prisoners 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice.