Prison makes bad people worse Essays

Prison makes bad people worse Essays Prison makes bad people worse Essay Prison makes bad people worse Essay In the UK the prisons have a maximum capacity of 80,000 inmates. At the end of April 2004 the number of people serving custodial sentences rose to above 82,000. The prisons in the UK are currently over capacity. Where are the extra 2000 inmates if there is no room for them? (Johnson 2004) For the purpose of this essay the statement that prison makes bad people worse is assumes to mean that serving a custodial sentence increases the likelihood of an offender re-offending. Before an attempt is made to examine the issue in questions a brief history of the prison system will be explored in an attempt to understand how prison has come to be the most serious method of punishment in the UK today. Prisons as mere places of confinement have existed for many years. Prisons as we know them today-places to which offenders are sent to receive punishment, there also to be worked on and changed-are a feature of modernity, a product of the industrial age. Since the abolition of the death penalty in 1965 imprisonment has been the most serious penalty the courts can impose in Britain. The punishment of imprisonment for sentenced prisoners might be both loss of liberty and harsh living conditions in the name of less eligibility or deterrence (Morgan, R 1997). Prior to the nineteenth century punishment for criminals was very different. The focus of punishment in these historic times was the body. Punishments were physical in nature with execution and torture being combined with public humiliation. Within just a few decades the brutal torture and public humiliations stopped. The body was no longer the major target for penal repression. Punishment ceased to be centred on torture as a technique of pain; it assumed as its principle object loss of wealth or rights. While this type of punishment apparently now focuses on the soul rather than the body it could be argued in many ways that imprisonment as a punishment does concern the body in a more indirect manner by rationing of food, sexual deprivation and solitary confinement . This trace of torture is enveloped increasingly, by the non-corporal nature of todays penal system (Foucault 1977). There are different arguments for the reason behind this shift from punishment in a physical manner to imprisonment. An orthodox approach argued that the reason for this was due to humanitarianism a (Portsmouth University 2003). nd reform, a more humane and civilized alternative to the brutality of earlier years Foucault (1977) argued that this was not the case; he believed that the reason for the changes was the defining of a new age, better punishment by operating not on bodies or fear but on the reform of offenders into the disciplined subject. Regardless of Foucaults argument the one factor that underpins punishment in the UK today is Human Rights. The 1998 Human Rights Act sets out a number of conventions which all people have a right to. The Prisons Inspectorate has developed the concept of a Healthy Prison which is based on the World Health Organisations four tests of what constitutes a healthy custodial environment which is based upon international human rights principles. These four tests are: that prisoners are held in safety; that they are treated with respect and dignity as human beings; that they are able to engage in purposeful activity; and that they are prepared for resettlement (Owers, A 2003). Punishment needs justification because it is something which is harmful, painful or unpleasant to the recipient. Prison causes physical discomfort, psychological pain, indignity and general unhappiness along with a number of social disadvantages which lead to offenders becoming socially excluded. There are a number of justifications or theories for punishment. Reductivism justifies punishment on the grounds that it helps to reduce the incidence of crime. It is claimed by supporters of this theory that if punishment is inflicted the incidence of crime will be less then if no punishment were imposed (Cavadino Dignan 1997) These arguments are supported by utilitarianism; a moral theory founded by Jeremy Bentham which stated that the greatest good was defined by the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Society as a whole is given greater weight than the individual (Abercrombie, Hill Turner 1988). Many theories of punishment come under the heading of Reductivism and are assumed to reduce the levels of crime. Deterrence is the idea that crime is reduced because of peoples fear of the punishment they may receive if they offend. Deterrence is divided into two categories, individual deterrence where an individual commits a crime and finds the punishment so unpleasant that the offence is not repeated fro the fear of the same happening again. General deterrence is when the punishment of a crime does not deter the offender who committed it but the crime is meant to put others off from committing the same crime. While it may seem common sense that this would be effective in reality this is not the case. Research has shown that punishment has other effects which out weigh any deterrence. The catching and imprisoning of offenders leads to them being labelled as criminals and this labelling process makes it difficult for them live law abiding lives. Their self image can change from a law abiding one to that of a deviant and this impacts on their behaviour (Cavadino Dignan 1997). It could be said with this evidence in mind that prison makes people worse. Rehabilitation theory is based on the notion that punishment can take a form which will improve an individuals character and behaviour and reduce the likelihood of them re-offending. The main aim of the probation service is the rehabilitation of offenders and the central aim of the prison system is the treatment and training of offenders (Portsmouth University 2003). One of prisons main priorities to assist in the rehabilitation of offenders is the provision of accredited offending behaviour programmes for prisoners which are based on evidence-based practice. Home Office research found no evidence between re-conviction rates for prisoners who had participated in programmes. The study suggested that there has been a shift in programme targeting to low risk offenders who are not suitable for the cognitive-behavioural approaches used. A report by the Social Exclusion Unit demonstrates that any positive effects that come from the offending programmes are far outweighed by the damage that the overall prison experience inflicts (Solomon, E, 2003). Another important point to note about rehabilitation in prison is that offenders who are serving short sentences do not get access to these programmes and it is these offenders who are more likely to get caught in the revolving door of the Criminal Justice System. This evidence does not directly indicate that prison makes bad people worse but neither does it demonstrate that prison can reform bad people. The theory of incapacitation does not centre on the idea that changing the behaviour of the offender will reduce crime but the notion of public protection. Whilst the offender is incarcerated he or she will not be able to commit further crime and this in turn will reduce crime. Along with this is the notion that the members of the public will feel safer knowing that they will not fall victim to a perpetrator who is locked up (Ainsworth 2000). James Q Wilson (1975) stated that a twenty percent reduction in street robbery could be achieved by locking up offenders for longer (Cavadino Dignan 1997). In reality this would result in a massive increase in prison numbers which due to the fact that prisons are already full would be impossible. With retribution theory punishment is an attempt by the victim and society to redress the balance between offenders and offended by seeing that the perpetrator is punished and suffers accordingly. This knowledge that the culprit is suffering may make victims feel that they have had their pound of flesh (Ainsworth 2000). Retribution theory is the opposite of reductionism. Where reductionism looks forward at the effects of punishment retribution looks back at the offence and believes that in some way two wrongs will make a right. In many cases retribution and reductionism are combined in a compromise situation and punishment is justified if it is both deserved by the offender and likely to act as a deterrent (Cavadino Dignan 1997). The justifications for punishment are wide and there are many more than are noted here. Regardless of the justification for sending a person to prison the important factor to be considered is the impact that a custodial sentence has on an individual prisoner. When talking about deterrence as a justification for prison, labelling theory was explored as a possibility for making prisoners more likely to re-offend due to them trying to fit into a role. Expanding this further is the idea of conformity, where an individual conforms to social rules or assumes a role because it is the norm. Social roles are built on a polarity such as powerful and powerless. These kinds of roles exist in the prison setting with the inmates being powerless and the prison officers powerful. An important question that needs to be examined is how easy it is for people to assume a role. A key study was carried out in 1973 by Psychologist Zimbardo which investigated this. Volunteers were recruited to take part in a two week study on prison life. 25 men took part in the study; each person was assigned the role of either prisoner or guard. These roles were assigned by the toss of a coin so that each participant had an equal chance of being prisoner or guard. The mock prison was in the basement of Stanford University. The results of the study were shocking. The prisoners were increasingly passive and dependant as the days went by and the guards became increasingly aggressive. One prisoner had to be release just 36 hours after the study began because of uncontrollable crying and fits of rage along with disorganised thinking and severe depression. Three more prisoners were released on successive days with similar symptoms. A fifth prisoner was released when he developed a rash over his whole body following his parole being rejected. The experiment, which was meant to run for two weeks, had to be stopped after 6 days because of the pathological reactions of the prisoners who had originally been selected for their normality. Throughout the experiment social power was the major dimension. All the guards at some point behaved in abusive, authoritarian way and appeared to enjoy the power and control (Gross 1996). Zimbardo argued that the abnormal behaviour demonstrated is best viewed as a product of transactions within an environment that supports such behaviour. The participants were labelled and put in a situation where these labels became valid and elicit pathological behaviour (Portsmouth University 2003). The main concern with the results of the Zimbardo experiment is the implications that it has for the prison system. Zimbardo believes that the current prison system is guaranteed to generate severe enough pathological reactions is prisoners and guards to debase their humanity, lower their feelings of self-worth and make it difficult for them to be part of society outside of prison (Portsmouth University 2003). This evidence is a clear demonstration of how labelling and conformity theories are evidence for prison making bad people worse. The inmates assume the role expected of them and find it difficult to leave this role when they are released. The work of Zimbardo leads neatly to a sociological idea of a prison subculture or a inmate code. This theory is demonstrated throughout prisons regardless of the justification for punishment. Prison is a society within a society with distinctive structure, aims, values and practices separate from the wider society. The inmate code is something which all prisoners adhere to. The is code includes not informing on other prisoners, not fraternising with staff, a need to be tough and resist exploitation and a need to maintain ones position in the prison pecking order. Violations of these roles are often controlled via bullying (Ireland 2002). This prisonisation process does not help with rehabilitation but acts as a breeding ground which provides reinforcement for criminal behaviour. The inmates become socialized into the way of life which demands opposition to authority and the formal system represented by the prison staff. Any attempts at reform are neutralized by this. According to Sykes (1958) this inmate code is developed to help inmates cope with the pain and deprivation of imprisonment. There is much evidence about the sociology of prison and about the current penal crisis which concerns overcrowding as one of the main factors. The fact of the matter is that prison has a poor record in reducing re-offending 59% of prisoners are reconvicted within 2 years of release. The reconviction rate for male young adults (under 21) over the same period is 74%. For prisoners who are sentenced for burglary, one of the most common offences, the reconviction rate is 75%. It has been concluded by research from the Social Exclusion Unit that re-offending by ex-prisoners costs society at least i 11 billion each year. Ex -prisoners are responsible for approximately one in five recorded crimes (Solomon, E, 2003). This is not direct evidence to suggest that the reason these people have re-offended is because they have served a custodial sentence which has made them worse. The evidence merely raises questions about the use of prison as a punishment for some offences. Prison is the right place for many criminals but the wrong place for others. Those convicted of violent crimes should be given custodial sentences. Prison has an important role to play in protecting the public from those who cause harm and punishing crimes that society takes most seriously. It is also right that there are many offenders who should not be taken into custody when they could be dealt with appropriately in the community. Community penalties allow offender to repay their debt to society rather than warehousing them in prison.

A Rationale for Integrating Arts in Education Essay

A Rationale for Integrating Arts in Education - Essay Example What makes this approach simultaneously traditional and revolutionary in nature is that it proposes a wider sense of self-development and expression of being in human nature and the conception of self than is traditionally permitted in institutions focused on discipline and social control of large and diverse masses of students who must be managed efficiently and coerced into behavioral patterns. The possibility exists that the â€Å"discipline and punish† mentality operating overtly and subtly in academic institutions publicly and privately may be more related to social hierarchies, engrained power structures, systems of status, and the needs of capitalist production facilities than a genuine valuing of the human being as a unique and free individual, as the work of the French Philosopher Michel Foucault suggested. If in recognizing this deeply engrained structural bias, educators feel the need for systemic reform in education institutions, one possible methodology to impleme nt on a theoretical basis in managing educational institutions is an Integrated Arts approach. This methodology relates also to extensive research in Humanistic and Integral psychology, which additionally posit a fundamental paradigm change in education that represents a broader and multi-dimensional conception of the human being and the respect for the essential freedom of human life found in Natural Law and Human Rights theories. Critical to the success of the Integral Arts approach is the cultivation of creativity in all aspects of life, problem solving, learning, and self-development. Encouraging Learning Styles and Multiple Perspectives Public institutions in a democratic and egalitarian society should be tasked with protecting the interests of all of society’s members equally. In education, this should fundamentally apply to serving the needs of all students equally. It can be further argued that the ranking, grading, evaluation of students, and distribution of grades o perates on a standardized model that contains both cultural biases and discrimination against students who have different learning styles or forms of self-expression. Integrated Arts methodologies in education management can theoretically eradicate these engrained structural biases by eliminating or changing the way students are tested, â€Å"valued†, promoted, etc. As Gallas (1991) wrote in â€Å"Arts as epistemology: Enabling children to know what they know,† â€Å"they [the students} will show you what they know and how they learn best, and often that is not the teachers way.† (Gallas, 1991) In forcing the students to conform on a fundamental level to the authority and rules of the class, a type of bias in education may arise that teachers and educators should address through education theory. An Integral Arts approach is designed to address this bias by de-emphasizing the authority structures that are presented in traditional models of classroom

Library Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Library Research - Essay Example Students find it imperative to find information that is scholarly as well as peer-reviewed like the journal articles. In addition, there are other sources of information which are non-reviewed such as Wikipedia that might be helpful for background, although these sources contain information which frequently lack depth and may exhibit a lot of errors (Jay, 1983). Nonetheless, the North Central Library contains extensive holdings in any field, and with the assistance of the librarians, students are capable of finding any information they require. The Activity Resources found in this library contains information literary which helps the students in familiarizing themselves with information literacy, while at the same time testing their information literacy skills. Apart from that, the searching library provides a wealth of databases, which is helpful when looking for scholarly information, as well as tutorials on the usage of these databases. The library also provides a chance for stude nts to develop into experts in particular areas. On the other hand, library can also help students’ exhibit expertise through a certain projects. This can be in regardless of whether the student is going into the program and having an interest in a particular

Notes on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Notes on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Though the novel is entitled The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the story is told by Huck, the key character in the novel is Jim The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has two key characters, one is the slave Jim, the other; the protagonist Huck. Jim and Huck could each be considered the key characters for different reasons, Jim as he is the main representative of the typical slave (slavery being the most important theme of this novel) and Huck for he is the main storyteller. Jim is an important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and without him the novel would be ineffectual. However The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about the adventures of the protagonist Huck, and it is more likely that the key character of this novel is Huck because we see everything from his view. In a novel which is written as a satiric social comment upon the southern states of America Jims role as the manifestation of slavery must be a key one. Incidents in which Jim interacts with other characters and their reactions to him are meant to symbolise the wider societys opinions on slaves and the practice of slavery. Jim, is a heroic figure in a book whose main characters consist of liars, cheats and scoundrels. Jim always does the right thing if he can, he always feels empathy for others even if those people show no such emotions for him. The incident at the end of the novel when he saves Tom and risks what he believes to be his own freedom is a case in point. We empathise with Jim because even though other characters suggest that his feelings are least important, whose life is lesser, whose existence is trivial, he manages to stay cheerful, and even kind to those who treat him in this manner. This quality makes him even more heroic, for he is a figure who turns the other cheek, and is kind to others no matter what. Jim doesnt lie or cheat, or steal or gamble and looks down on these activities. Jim is never bitter, he never complains, and never expects Huck to return or even notice what he does for him. However this is no to say that Huck is not heroic himself, his support for Jim, a black man, who Huck has been taught is inferior and as important as a pack horse is astounding, and displays that Huck is strong enough and heroic enough to make the harder choice and choose his heart over his conscience. An example of Huck choosing his heart occurs just after Jim has been sold by the King and the Duke for forty dollars, Huck believes he has been forced to make a choice between Jim and heaven. He chooses Jim with the words All right then, Ill go to hell. It is Jims escape and the subsequent threat of his re-capture that provides the reason for himself and Huck to leave the island and travel down the river where most of their adventures occur. Without Jim Twain would lack a reason for Huck to travel down the river and experience what he experiences, without Jim this would be little more than a story about a boy who fakes his own death, and then lives on an island. Add to this the fact that Jim is the leader during the travel down the river. He is the one who knows all the signs of weather, either good or bad, it is he who makes their journey its success and ensures their lives. Jim is the maturest out of himself and Huck. Hucks immaturity is shown when he puts the rattlesnake in Jims sleeping bag, or when he plays a trick on Jim during the fog. Jims maturity is displayed by his reaction to the incident when Huck plays a trick on him during the fog. Without Jim the novel would be innefectual because Hucks development would be stunted without him. One prime example of Jims importance occurs when Huck comes closer to fully realising that Jim is a real person too and the colour of his skin does not diminish his humanity. Huck has realised that Jim is a human and that he should not play tricks on him or regard him as stupid, around the end of the novel Huck says I knowed he was white inside, Huck is expresing his realisation that Jim is a human in the only way he knows through making Jim white. Hucks realisation is well brought across to us just after he has hidden in the fog, and returned to Jim, Jim works out that Huck is trying to trick him and reacts very badly to Hucks prank. Huck then says. it was fifteen minutes before I could work myself to humble to a nigger- but I done it, and I warnt ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didnt do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldnt done that one if Id knowed it would make him feel that way. Huck and Jim have a symbiotic relationship, they need each other Huck needs Jim to remain dynamic and keep our attention, and Jim needs Huck to justify his presence in the novel. Jims effect on Huck is huge it is through Jim that Huck begins to learn about how the colour of skin does not alter the person inside. An example of this occurs when Huck says and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for theirn . Huck justifies Jims existence as a character of substance in this novel, for through helping Huck and caring for him, Jim is makes an impact on the reader, and hence makes his position in the novel as one of its main characters more tenable. However while it is obviously true that Jim teaches Huck he is not Hucks only teacher, several other characters such as Pap and Tom also teach Huck valuable lessons. One example of Huck being taught by someone other than Jim occurs when Huck says If I never learnt nothin else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way. It is through Huck and his reactions to various events that Twain passes on his opinions to the reader. Huck is a character through which the author, in Twain puts across his point of view, for example Hucks realisation that Jim is also a human and also important. Twain is trying to get this message across to the public. Huck is a representation of the common person at the beginning of the novel. He is white, uneducated, simple, and not willing to think about what he is told just willing to accept it. Hucks realisations about right and wrong, and importantly his own ability to determine this for himself are drawn out and argued logically inside a story which will hold the readers attention. Through Huck Twain frames all the key issues of freedom, racism and slavery, personal integrity and social rebellion against social attitudes of the period. This occurs when Huck interacts with key characters who are representative of a theme or an idea being presented by Twain. For example his interaction with Tom who represents conventional social attitudes, as the novel progresses Huck is less inclined to accept what Tom says or does as correct. One example of this occurs when Huck quits Tom Sawyers band of thieves, he no longer agrees with Tom, and many of Toms imagined incidents such as that of rading the summer school picnic no longer hold any credence with Huck. This moving away from Tom and what he represents, is an indication of Twains rejection of conventional social values. Jim is the symbolic representation of only one of these points of discussion, slavery. Jim is only a part of that whole because he represents only one of the themes that Twain is discussing in this novel. Unlike Huck, Jim is not the one who reveals the authors opinions through his actions and reactions he is merely representative of one of these ideas. Without Hucks presence the novel lacks a unifying element. Jim is unable to fill the void in this regard as he is a relatively static character who does not change. This is unlike the dynamic Huck who changes some of his opinions and learns about many things ranging from serious issues such as slavery to simpler things such as to how to discern what the weather will be. The most important factor that leads me to argue that Huck is the protagonist comes from the fact that the whole novel is told in first person. It is Hucks views not Jims that we get, it is his outlook that colours our opinion, and most importantly his vernacular we read. In fact Jim himself is seen through Hucks eyes, with Hucks opinion colouring our own. Huck is omnipresent, this is not so with Jim he continuously disappears when it does not serve Twain to have him in the episode. Debates inside Hucks mind, the incident when Huck plays a trick on Jim during the fog, and even the whole Shepardson, Grangerford incident are lacking the presence of Jim. When Huck meets the Shepardsons and the Grangerfords, for example Jim magically disappears into the bushes to repair the raft. Huck is in every moment of the novel, and other characters are merely there because they interact with Huck, Jim is no exception. Jim is an extremely important character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim represents slavery the major theme of the novel, is forgiving, and kind, however this makes him a heroic character, not the key character. Huck on the other hand is the key character by virtue of his predominance throughout the book, he is on every page, and every line and unlike Jim he is the character who reveals and in effect discusses issues through his reactions, action and interaction with other characters. Hence it is fair and logical to conclude that although important Jim is not the key character of the novel, that honour must go to Huck.

How To Get To School Without Saying The F Word :: essays research papers

Ingredients: Yourself and the city of New York Please! Don’t scream too loud at the sunlight piercing your protesting eyes, torn from the throes of a trip in Rome. Monotonously say, â€Å"Yes Mom,† to the screaming she-devil dragging you out of bed. Place your feet on the cold floor and yelp. Scramble for your floppies; make sure they’re under the bed. No other place will do. You will now be forced to grope underneath the bed for this necessary accessory. Make sure your hand encounters something cold and slimy that you can’t identify. But please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD. Remember, Mom is watching. Remove your hand, wipe on tissue and slowly make your way to the bathroom. Make sure it is occupied; hopefully by your brother but if he is not available, your sister will do. If it is your father, go back to your room and wait for either sibling. Once your brother or sister is in the bathroom, bang on the door at least twice. Repeat if desired. Have them stay inside for another five minutes, pace the hallway in impatience and wish to be an only child. You may also wish to die but this is quite drastic and not necessary. Once the occupant leaves the bathroom, glare at them angrily and then stalk inside. Jump into the shower, turn the wrong knob so that cold water pours over your face. But please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD. Someone might be standing right outside. Make sure your shower is just long enough so that you have to skip breakfast. Emerge from your shower, don a towel and stare at yourself in the mirror. Complain about your looks, wallow in self-pity and begin to cry hysterically. Stop crying. Stare at yourself in the mirror, analyze your face. Say, â€Å"It could be worse.† Blame the media for your insecurities, and give yourself a pep talk. Try to brush your teeth without incident. Whistle a little, be happy. Don’t trip on the way out the bathroom. Tip-toe on the cold, hard floor to your room where your little sister lies in ambush in the corner . She will dart out screaming and scare you to death, them run shrieking down the hallway. Please! DON’T SAY THE F WORD! Her young, impressionable mind does not need the profanity. Quickly grab the first T-shirt and jeans you find in the Everest of piles that is your clothing.

Mental mindset paper Essay

Assume you work in Human Resources as a part of the management team for AAA Transportation in Waukegan, WI, which has recently been acquired. AAA Transportation is an interstate trucking company that specializes in transporting wholesale produce in refrigerated trailers throughout the Midwest. The new owners want to make some sweeping changes in the services offered. One of the things that they would like to do is add delivery of nonperishable products, such as canned foods, to their delivery routes, allowing AAA to expand the area they cover and to provide expanded service to their existing customers. They think that, because many of the routes do not require a full load on the trucks, there is room to add the nonperishable goods and provide delivery at a lower rate than the customers are now paying. Two of your coworkers, Vernon and Bud, are resistant to the changes proposed by the new owners. Vernon supervises the company’s drivers and Bud works in the corporate offices. Vernon does not think that it is a good idea to expand out of their core business, while Bud thinks that AAA is not strong enough to compete with existing companies that service the nonperishable foods market (several of whom AAA has had a long history of mutually respecting each others customers and routes); they risk alienating long-term customers; and transporting nonperishable goods in refrigerated trailers is inefficient. Both employees have been with the company for more than 20 years and have much influence among the rest of the employees. Management does not want to terminate such long-term and  influential employees but need for Vernon and Bud to join the effort to make the company successful  Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you define and discuss mental model/mindsets and their impact on you and your two  coworkers. Identify the four steps to changing mental models/mind sets and how you could use them to bring Vernon and Bud onto the team.  Identify the five forces that influence those mental model/mindsets of your coworkers and discuss how those forces might affect your coworkers’ mindsets. Include examples of what mental models/mindsets are possibly affecting Vernon and Bud’s decision-making processes and affecting their relationship with the company. Analyze your most commonly used mental models/mindsets that  guide your decision making in the workplace. How do these models influence your decision making?  Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines and how  Identify the four steps to changing mental models/mind sets and how you could use them to bring Vernon and Bud onto the team The first step is to recognize the power and limits of the models. The second step is to test the relevance of the mental models against changing environment and to generate new models. The third step is to overcome inhibitors such as lack of information, lack of trust, desire to hold on to old patterns, and the expectations of the others. The final step is to implement the model, assess the model and continuously strengthen the model (Crook, Wind, Gunther, 2005, p. xxiv). Identify the five forces that influence those mental model/mindsets of your coworkers and discuss how those forces might affect your coworkers’ mindsets The Porter Five Forces model helps to simplify the business decision-making process by breaking down business situations into five key areas, which include Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Competitive Rivalry, Threat of Substitution and Threat of New Entry (Mind Tools, 2011). By using this model to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a business and its competitors, aspects of risk, planning and decisions for a course of action can be clarified. However, an incorrect perception in any of the five areas could create a mindset that limits decision-making process (Malone-Kline, 2008). For example, a known weakness in the areas of Buyer Power, Supplier Power or Threat of Substitution could create the mindset of vulnerability to a Threat of New Entry without recognizing that an extremely high cost of entry (hence high risk) places any new entry in a more vulnerable position (Mind Tools, 2011). A large number of suppliers can result in a mindset of relative strength in the area of supplier power, a mental model that could prove disastrous if a sudden shortage occurred (such as was the case when Japanese  silicon chip manufacturers closed down after the recent earthquakes, causing a worldwide shortage of certain high quality chips). The inverse could also be true as was the case for Buyer Power in the U.S. housing market when the low buyer power mindset for many was not in line with the sudden drop in housing prices. For many computer manufacturers, a Threat of Substitution position of power mindset resulted in their demise because they did not recognize the fact that the market was oversaturated. A mindset or mental model of weakness in the area of Competitive Rivalry has resulted in many new inventions not being introduced to market when in fact the invention technology was superior to rivals. Apple is a great example of a company that has recently been successful through a change in mindset in a market where their Competitive Rivalry position and mindset was not favorable only thirteen years ago (Business Insider, 2010). Include examples of what mental models/mindsets are possibly affecting Vernon and Bud’s decision-making processes and affecting their relationship with the company Analyze your most commonly used mental models/mindsets that  guide your decision making in the workplace. How do these models influence your decision making How might mental models and mindsets limit the decision making process. Education, training, influence from others, rewards or incentives and personal experience all help to create our mental model and mindset of the world around us. These factors can shape our expectations such that we make decisions based upon our mental model rather than based upon the information presented to us. For example, if we have a high level of faith in the truth of the information learned through the education process and information to the contrary is presented as a decision factor, because the information is contrary to the mental model created through our education, the new but contrary information is set aside as invalid and decisions are made based upon the mental model. Another example would be making the decision to enter a market where competition is high and so it the power of substitution. If your mental model shaped by personal experience leads you to believe that substitution is less of a factor than it really is, you may opt to take the  risk and enter that market, ignoring the substitution factor entirely, resulting in a failed venture.

Essay Countess Elizabeth Bathory Serial Killer - 941 Words

With the complexity and brutality of her crimes, Elizabeth Bathory is known as the most sadistic and prolific serial killer in the world; even more so, she stands out because she is a female that is rare: especially in the Elizabethan Era. Bathory was believed to have been responsible for the murders of 600 virgin girls. She was certain that a drop of blood would make her look youthful again, but was convinced that bathing in the blood of girls who were virgins would take years off her. Because of her personality, physical qualities, and her lack of moral/family values, Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary had the life of one of the most fascinating yet obsessive leaders in all of Transylvania. It is believed that her family had an†¦show more content†¦Obsessed with the idea of beauty, Bathorys life took a turn one day when she hit a servant girl across the face. Because of her long nails, Bathory dug into the girls skin and a drop of the girls’ blood hit her face. Later, she thought she noticed that where the blood had hit her cheek made her skin look smoother and like the skin of a younger woman. Bathory also consulted a beauty expert and a group of alchemists who also agreed (Rose and Garza, The Slavic Vampire.). An alchemist is someone who believes that everything is a magical process in terms of creation, transformation, or combination. She came to the conclusion that if she bathed in the blood of young virgins she would be young and beautiful again. Like most serial killers, Bathory was intrigued by watching the faces of those who were in pain. However, she did not settle with her punishments and she changed the way she performed them quite frequently. Before she had found an interest in blood, she tortured young servants by pushing pins and needles underneath their nails and tying them up while smearing their bodies with honey and leaving them outside to be attacked by bees and ants. Many testimonies have been made Initially, Bathory lured her victims into her castle by offering them well-paid work as servants. It is said that later on she advertised an etiquette school of which sheShow MoreRelatedElizabeth Bathory: The Worlds Most Extreme Female Serial Killer1708 Words   |  7 PagesElizabeth Bathory, one of the world’s most extreme and terrifying female serial killers. Many people know her by name or at least know of her crimes. The tales of her obsession with blood and beauty inspired a whole gothic nation to create a new look for an old monster, but what can one say is truth or myth? Who was Elizabeth Bathory and what lead her to kill close to 650 young girls? Elizabeth Bathory, also known by the name Erzsebet, was born on August 7th in the year 1560, to Baron George BathoryRead MoreDifferent Types Of Mental Disorders1481 Words   |  6 PagesThere are two types of mental disorders that most people are familiar with thanks to television shows such as â€Å"Criminal Minds†. A show about serial killers, kidnappers and many more, throughout the show they discuss about people doing inhuman crimes. The actors sometimes describe them as sociopaths or psychopaths. There are a couple of differences between these two disorders. The first difference is brain anatomy, genetics and a person’s environment all provides the process of a psychopath and aRead More Serial Killers Essay1890 Words   |  8 PagesSerial Killers Introduction to Psychology Introduction In the past two decades, the creature known as the serial killer has captured the attention of the American culture. With the dozens of books and movies centered around serial killers the term has become a trendy catch phrase, replacing earlier terms such as homicidal maniac. Fiction and screenwriters use the term serial killers with such casual abandon that is seems the meaning of the term escapes them. Acknowledgements I