Cruel and Unusual Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cruel and Unusual Punishment - Essay Example Despite widespread outcry on the cruelty associated with the death penalty, many countries around the globes still practice it and view it as a perfectly legal form of extreme punishment. Whether to uphold or abolish the death penalty has been a controversial subject in many societies, in the world. This is because of the divergent views that different people have based on phenomenon such as culture, political ideology and religion. The United Nations, for example, has in recent times adopted resolutions though non binding, advocating for the abolishment of executions giving emphasis on the sanctity of life. The European Union also outlaws the practice of capital punishment in its area of jurisdiction through the second article of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights. This has proved to be ineffective since countries like the Unites States, Indonesia, India and China, which hold a large part of the global population, still practice capital punishment (Mandery 45). Accordi ng to Amnesty International, two nations each year have abolished capital punishment in their criminal justice systems since 1976. Counties such as Germany, Australia and Spain strongly against the practice of capital punishment regardless of the crime committed. Capital punishment dates as far back as 8th Century B.C in Babylon, where twenty five different crimes were punishable by death. The Hittite code of the 14th Century B.C also embraced capital punishment. Most astonishing of them all was the draconian Athens code of the 7th Century B.C, which set out death as punishment for all crimes. In early civilizations, the death penalty got executed thorough drowning, firing squads, impalement, lynching, decapitation and crucifixion. In present day, capital punishment gets executed through the use of lethal injection, firing squads, lethal gas, hanging and electrocution (Radelet 46). The death penalty in the Unites States has been an issue of insurmountable concern for a long time. Th e precedence of capital punishment in Americas came as a result of British influence on the then colony. Though capital punishment had been occurring, the first recorded execution took place in Virginia in 1608. The early 20th Century marked the resurgence in the execution of the death penalty. The 1930s marked the decade with the largest number of executions in the history of America. In the 1950s, the public began to voice their opposition to capital punishment. This led to a drop in the number of executions. In the 1960s, the legality of capital punishment got challenged. Before 1960, the eighth, fifth and fourteen amendments were interpreted as having endorsed the death penalty. It was later suggested that the death penalty was unusual and cruel, and hence unconstitutional in accordance to the Eighth Amendment (Mandery 77). In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled that the 8th Amendment had an evolving standard of decency which marked progress of a society that was coming of age. This n ewly found decency no longer had room for the death penalty. As a result, the Supreme Court began refining the administration of the death penalty by ensuring that it was practiced with little or no pain inflicted. Whereas the 8th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States restrains the government from cruel and unusual punishments, the ambiguity of the term ‘cruel and unusual’ has over the years fuelled the controversy about the constitutionality of capital p

Leadership Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Skills - Assignment Example A classroom would become a fish market if a teacher does not lead it. A home would run out of finances if the parent/parents don’t control the expenditures of the children. A company would lose track of the project scope, time and quality if the employees are not led by the manager. People vary in their scope of leadership, yet they have to execute certain leadership skills irrespective of the scope of leadership or the circumstances in which they have to execute the leadership. Three Leadership Skills Three of the most fundamental leadership skills are planning, controlling and resolving the conflicts. They are discussed below: Planning Planning is the first and the foremost necessity of leadership. A leader has a plan according to which he/she directs the followers. This plan is made with a view to achieving the goal that is of interest not only to the leader, but also to the whole team. People would not follow a leader until they see something coming out of it that they val ue. Planning is defined as choosing the course of action. From among a variety of plans, a leader is entitled to select such a plan that maximizes the benefits and convenience both for himself/herself and for the whole team and minimizes the cost of operation and the problems and risks. Since the entire project is based on the plan selected by the leader, an individual must be extremely skilled in choosing the right plan in order to be an effective leader. Controlling Controlling is the second most essential skill every leader should have. Controlling essentially means making the followers conform to the instructions of the leader. A leader has hundreds of ways to control the followers, but the most effective of them requires the leader to be least authoritative and dictator in his approach and nature. A leader can best control the followers by earning their confidence. Leadership exists only as long as the trust of the followers sustains. The moment that trust is shattered, the lea der is gone. In order to gain that trust, a leader should make the followers aware of his/her plans and the reason he/she wants the followers to act in a certain way. Once the project has been started, the leader should make sure that the followers are provided with all materials, resources and funds they need to execute the project. Thus, a leader needs to control the expenses and resources. There has to be a balance in the cash flow and the use of resources. The leader must know what resources to release in what amount and at what time. Being at the right place at the right time is the key to effective controlling. Conflict Resolution Whenever there is a team, conflicts are bound to occur. Conflicts may be functional or dysfunctional. Functional conflicts are those in which the team members argue with one another in an attempt to identify the most suitable course of action. Dysfunctional conflicts are those in which the followers fight with one another over matters that are of no significance to work. A leader must ensure that the functional conflicts do not change into the dysfunctional ones and the dysfunctional conflicts do not occur at all. A leader can achieve this if he/she has adequate conflict resolution skills. There are certain exercises that can help a leader resolve conflicts among the followers. The leader should design process groups for the work and allow the followers time to spend with one another

Barriers To Translating Scientific Text

Barriers To Translating Scientific Text Complications and difficulties on translating a scientific text A key factor in the success of communication is written documents in a correct translation, and while translating scientific articles or texts this process can become difficult. Truly only scientists who are trained linguists can truly understand the terminology and keep the concepts in context. With the basis of their personal experience as professionals they can easily translate an experiment they have just done. Scientific knowledge is needed to be able to translate a scientific text. Some Scientists though cant write well, and make mistakes in spelling and grammar in their own language which hardens the process. This is why there are master degrees you can take. Its available for the common translator who wants to specialize in translating certain areas of science. And translating certain areas of science, you could find the knowledge gained valuable. You find yourself learning all the time, learning new words and expressions, and learning about new advances in the scientific subject you are studying. But there are also some disadvantages when you translate this kind of text. Like I said before, unless you are a specialized person on the area youre going to have lots of difficulties on translating some scientific texts. And a translator just cant expect that every single text he gets is going to be about the specific area he is specialized on. This is why scientific texts are a very difficult kind of texts to translate and most of the times you have to ask someone specialized on the area to help you with some words or simply to revise the document. Interview An interview was made to a male graduate student from the Translation course. We arranged this interview in order to see how his career as a translator was going. He said that after graduating, the work market was very difficult to get into. There arent a lot of jobs for people who just graduated and dont have any masters degree on any specific area. This student in particular wants to take a masters degree but wanted to start working at the same time. He said that he got his first work opportunity when he was asked to translate a few pages of a childrens book. It wasnt that difficult according to what he said but he said that the kind of texts he wants to translate is scientific texts. However, these require not only a masters degree but also a lot of knowledge on the specific area that you are trying to translate. He mentioned that his plans for the future are to specialize on the chemistry area in order to do translations of books. He wants this because he knows some people who study chemistry and their books are all in English and some of them have some difficulty in understanding what the book refers to. He is therefore aware that, to do this he will have to specialize in that area and get a lot of knowledge of the vocabulary, because scientific vocabulary is most of the time very difficult to understand and translate. When finally asked why he chose this area of translation, he said convincingly that he loves challenges. A masters degree that aims for translations scientific area Specialized translation is the name given to this masters degree that takes place in University of Aveiro and leads translation studies to a specific area of translation: the scientific area, more specifically the health and life sciences area. Started in 2007, this masters degree has 2 years duration, takes place in University of Aveiro in the languages and cultures department, and has a total of 30 slots. This degree is accessible for students with a translation degree or a legal equivalent and other degrees providing knowledge of foreign languages or people with a professional, scientific or scholar recognized by University of Aveiro commission coordinating the masters. It has the purpose of giving the owners of a degree on languages area, especially the ones that graduated in translation, an opportunity of developing their translation skills on the health and life sciences area. Students acquire advanced scientific knowledge and work methods that will allow them to do a quality translation job on the area of expertise. They are also given a deeper knowledge of foreign languages chosen, analysis and investigation skills, and project management competences within the specialized translation area. The formation given by this masters develops and enlarges the competences on the scientific area of translation giving the opportunity to acquire deep knowledge in the area of health and life sciences and also provides the student the tools to be successful at managing and creating projects which will contribute to an improvement of the success in the work market. Requirements to be a scientific translator Translating isnt that simple. It involves a great amount of skills to be a good translator Especially to translate scientific texts. According to London Institute of Linguistics, one should have the following skills: High knowledge on the topics mentioned on the target text to be translated; An imagination capable of describing processes and equipment with a high level of success; A certain level of intelligence which needs to be able to fill missing links in the original text to the target translated language; A sense of discrimination so that the translator can choose the right equivalent term from his source of information; Ability to understand and use concise, precise and clear languages; Experience in translation, especially in the scientific field (in order to be familiar with most of the target vocabulary). Apart from these requirements, nevertheless, people must be aware that there are other things to take into consideration, most importantly the deadlines for deliveries, which means, every skill must be used in order to reach effectiveness in a short period of time. Scientific versus Literary Translation We are about to list some characteristics of scientific against literary translation. In scientific texts we have to limit the meaning of words to its general concept. Scientific content is concerned with horizontal structure of the world while literary content is concerned with vertical structure of the world. So, on one hand we will have a horizontal relation between width and breadth, which testifies merits of scientists and technologists, and on the other hand, we will have a vertical relation between height and depth, which testifies merits of artists and poets. The product of poets is essentially a product of height and depth which has either been brought down or lifted up so as to fit into the width and breadth of life itself acquiring a horizontal dimension; the product of scientists lacks the intuitive complexity and wealth of experience characteristic of poets. Scientists speak within familiar and concrete realities of the everyday life. If they need to move, their movement rarely goes against the accomplishment of new horizons or new perspectives they always remain within the concrete, tangible and objective reality, within the horizontal structure. It is important to add that these dimensions horizontal or vertical are fundamentally dependent on the perceiving reader. Both self-relationship and world-relationship are unified through the symbolic system of identification commonly known as language. Nevertheless, this doesnt mean exactly that these dimensions can be extended during an individuals cultural experience and life-time. The relation of the horizontal and vertical dimensions seems like two extremes, but, when unified they transmit a harmony of opposites. Hence, to span them, it seems so impossible that even a highly-sophisticated computer technology cant achieve such thing. Below, you will find differences between science and literature: Scientific Texts Literary Texts Denotative adequacy. Unbridled connotation. Precision. Vagueness. Reason. Emotion. Truth to particular reality. Truth to the ideal and universal. Generalization. Concretion. Referential meaning. Emotive meaning. Denotation. Connotation. Lexical affixation. Grammatical affixation. Idiomatic expressions are rare. Idiomatic expressions are frequent. Use of abbreviation, acronym, and registers. Very few abbreviations, acronyms, and registers. Standard expressions. Almost all varieties. Use of scientific terminology, specialized items, and formulae. No use of scientific terminology, or formulae. No use of elements of figurative language. Expensive use of figurative language. Difficulties of scientific translations Scientific translations, like every translation, need to be done with maximum attention. If you want to do the best you can, you have to know the basic strategies of translation: You need to know as much as possible about the specific area of the text that youre about to translate. You should search the sites where you can find the full information about the translating area. Sometimes it is better to have some consultation with a specialist on the translating area. Dont translate more than 2 pages per day. Dont try to translate fast because you will have bad results. Only good translators, who have years of practice can do a fast and good job. You should use good translation dictionaries like IATE which have European quality. You have to be critic to yourself and be self-disciplined. In the area of scientific translation you will face problems like the equal word for the translating language. Sometimes you will not be able to translate the word. In this case you should put the original word in Italic and write the meaning in brackets. You should translate the text like if it is the work of your life because if something goes wrong, the responsibilities are all yours. Dont accept a translation assignment just for the pay; be sure you are able to do it. Someone catches you with work in a slipshod manner, people will never ask you to do more. A good scientific translator normally has his own specialization and translates texts with maximum quality only in his area.

The Application Of Science To Engineering :: essays research papers

The Application of Science to Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Improvements in engineering are very important to the industrialization and prosperity of a country. Although engineering improvements sometimes come through trial and error they are most often achieved by applying pure science and mathematics to engineering. Canadian engineering was improved a great deal in this manner. The engineering associated with building materials and long distance communication, two of Canada's most important industries, was improved through the application of pure science.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most important scientific discoveries of all time was the law of electromagnetic induction discovered by an englishman, Micheal Faraday, in 1831. This discovery was applied to mechanical generation of electricity which made tremendous improvements to communications throughout Canada. The electric telegraph, first discovered in 1837 by Samuel Morse, was a great improvement over the mechanical telegraph which required the use of a telescope and was much less effective. It encodes messages electrically, transmits them over facilities such as copper wire, coaxial cable, and fibre optics to their destination where they are decoded into their original form. Combinations of long and short bursts of electric current are sent through a circuit thereby encoding each letter of the alphabet. More efficient transmission facilities were developed as the mining industry developed. The discovery of electricity sped up the development of mining through electric lighting and better machinery and ventilation, which led to better materials for wires and cables. Telegraph lines were set up along the CPR in 1885 as a convenient root, but also to relay information about the position of each train along the track to avoid collisions. The telegraph was also the main source of information for newspapers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like the telegraph, the telephone wouldn't have been possible without the discovery of electricity. The telephone was discovered by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and is much more advanced than the telegraph. It encodes variations in sound waves into variations of electric waves through vibrations of a diaphragm which are then transmitted. Electromagnets are used to send these vibrations through a cable, which are received on the other end by another diaphragm. For it's first few years the telephone was for public use only ( for calling fire stations, doctors†¦). A central exchange system was then set up and wealthy people began to gain access. The telephone quickly became essential in unifying and further developing the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the construction industry there were several huge advances in the technology of building materials. Two related materials with similar methods of production are cement and bricks. Cement production in Canada began in 1889 in Hull, Quebec. Portland cement was the principle type and consisted of lime, The Application Of Science To Engineering :: essays research papers The Application of Science to Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Improvements in engineering are very important to the industrialization and prosperity of a country. Although engineering improvements sometimes come through trial and error they are most often achieved by applying pure science and mathematics to engineering. Canadian engineering was improved a great deal in this manner. The engineering associated with building materials and long distance communication, two of Canada's most important industries, was improved through the application of pure science.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most important scientific discoveries of all time was the law of electromagnetic induction discovered by an englishman, Micheal Faraday, in 1831. This discovery was applied to mechanical generation of electricity which made tremendous improvements to communications throughout Canada. The electric telegraph, first discovered in 1837 by Samuel Morse, was a great improvement over the mechanical telegraph which required the use of a telescope and was much less effective. It encodes messages electrically, transmits them over facilities such as copper wire, coaxial cable, and fibre optics to their destination where they are decoded into their original form. Combinations of long and short bursts of electric current are sent through a circuit thereby encoding each letter of the alphabet. More efficient transmission facilities were developed as the mining industry developed. The discovery of electricity sped up the development of mining through electric lighting and better machinery and ventilation, which led to better materials for wires and cables. Telegraph lines were set up along the CPR in 1885 as a convenient root, but also to relay information about the position of each train along the track to avoid collisions. The telegraph was also the main source of information for newspapers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like the telegraph, the telephone wouldn't have been possible without the discovery of electricity. The telephone was discovered by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and is much more advanced than the telegraph. It encodes variations in sound waves into variations of electric waves through vibrations of a diaphragm which are then transmitted. Electromagnets are used to send these vibrations through a cable, which are received on the other end by another diaphragm. For it's first few years the telephone was for public use only ( for calling fire stations, doctors†¦). A central exchange system was then set up and wealthy people began to gain access. The telephone quickly became essential in unifying and further developing the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the construction industry there were several huge advances in the technology of building materials. Two related materials with similar methods of production are cement and bricks. Cement production in Canada began in 1889 in Hull, Quebec. Portland cement was the principle type and consisted of lime,

Why I Want to be an Army Officer

Every child has a dream, and I was no exception to this rule. Ever since I was a kid, I used to dream of joining the Army, to be in combats and fatigues. To me , at that time ,joining in the army meant a great deal and in retrospect, I realize I was never free of this desire. My parents and my immediate family did not bother to rid me of this ambition as they felt that with passage of time, I would come around! But that was not to be. As I grew up, through my teenage years, the urge to join was retained intact. Although I must admit that there were times in life when this aspect went to the backburner. In particular, I was impressed with the personality and the sense of aura that I felt in the presence of GIs/Officers who while on leave, regaled neighborhood kids like me with stories of their travels, exploits and experiences. While in college, the exposure to different types of people from diverse cultures and my experiences in life only served to impress upon me that I had the requisite qualities like aptitude, leadership, team spirit and such like.In the course of this Essay I will be listing out the principle reasons for wanting to become an Army Officer. Why I Want to be an Army Officer Transition of Childhood Dream to Passion As I have already stated, I had this dream of joining the Army ever since my childhood. At that time, the aspects that drew me to this profession were the uniform, glamour and the aura, as perceived by a child. As I grew up, and went to school, I got to know of the various opportunities available to me from an employment point of view. I was extremely good at academics and at sport i.e. an ideal combination of brain and brawn. However, I realized that the desire to join the Army never diminished. If at all there was any change, is in the fact, that I was now more specific with regard to joining Army: as an Officer. With experience and with passage of time I did not realize that the childhood dream had now metamorphosised in to a passion: the single objective in my life. I do not remember when I made this resolve, but somewhere along the line, I had subconsciously chosen this career and I set about the task of turning this passion into reality. What could have attracted me so much to join as an Army Officer? It definitely was not the pay package alone, as I have qualifications that can fetch me larger pay packages in other professions. I know it was the aspects like aptitude, leadership qualities, patriotism, glamour, esperit-de-corps, physical fitness, chance to travel and man management skills that convinced me that I was ideally suitable for this career. Leadership I had extensively read the military Campaigns of all the important conflicts and wars that have taken place in history. I assessed that the outcome of all these wars crucially depended upon the quality of leadership available to the winning sides. Examples of sides with much lesser resources in terms of man-power, weapons and logistics defeating much bigger forces are in abundance in history; the common denominator to all these victories being the astute and capable leadership they were fortunate to have. I felt that I possess most of the qualities that these leaders possessed, qualities like quick decision making, factual analysis, good management of scarce resources and a sharp mind; in combat situations. I feel strongly that I have all the leadership qualities required to be a good officer and this is one of the principle reasons that I want to become an Army Officer. Besides, the other motivating factor related to leadership is the loyalty, trust and confidence that one enjoys from the subordinates and colleagues. This is the measure of a person’s leadership and personally I value this form of recognition as it is very satisfying and exhilarating feeling. Aptitude While examining the recruitment related brochures, I realized that I had the requisite attribute in ample measure for becoming an Army Officer. I had both; the academic qualifications and the physical excellence required for this demanding profession. This implied that I had the mental robustness and physical sturdiness required to be a good officer after I completed my training and joined the assigned unit. Besides, I have extensive capabilities of self introspection, assessment, analysis and a very good capability of discriminating between right and wrong. I am also aware that I have always been ‘an out of the box thinker’ and in life I have the distinction of consistently coming up with simple solutions to complex problems. Since, I already posses most of the officer like qualities and the few that I do not posses (social skill) will form part of acquired character traits after I complete my training. Patriotism The 9/11 attack and the consequent loss of innocent lives filled me with a deep sense of outrage, anguish, and impotent fury. I realized that we had taken our freedom and democracy for granted all this while, and were never really concerned with matters of national security or protecting our freedom. I wanted to contribute in the retribution, in the nation’s resolve to set matters right. How could a band of terrorists ever dream to do this to us? Are we perceived as a nation of easy going people, whom any one can attack and get away with it? I am not a proponent of vigilantism, but I definitely would like to contribute to the national effort. This would give me a deep sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that I have paid back to the nation for all it has bestowed me with as an unconditional right. Pay Package and Glamour The pay package is not very high but I guess it more or less evens out in the long run. I have gone through the various literatures and realize that there are quite a few perks and privileges that if quantified, can make the pay and remuneration look even bigger. In any case, this is not a major consideration factor as from my view point, the pay is reasonably decent. Besides, it is the glamour factor that I consider equally important. The chances to travel to distant places, (which I have only heard of or studied in school) interact with different cultures and people are yet another motivating factor. Job Satisfaction I strongly believe that to have sustained peace of mind and inner happiness, it is essential to be doing a job which one likes and from which one derives satisfaction. I do not see any sense in pursuing any other career wherein the pay package may be higher, but the job satisfaction is far from achieved. At the end of the day, it is not worth it if one is not satisfied with the work one has have been doing. If I join as an Army Officer, I do know, that the parameters are strictly laid down and that they have to be strictly adhered to. But since these are uniformly applicable without bias and discrimination, I feel convinced, that I will derive immense job satisfaction References http://www.army.com/enlist/officer-candidate-school.html extracted on 15 May 07 for the official website

Good Will Hunting: Movie Response

Good Will Hunting Movie Response Name: answer each questions with 1 paragraph (6 sentences) Please 1 . What is Sean Maguire's (Robin Williams) Psychological Specialization? How do you know this? What parts of the movie lead you to this conclusion? Sean Maguire specializes in talking with people who are incredibly defensive and unwilling to open up about many aspects of life. Sean could be considered a Counseling Psychologist. This becomes quite evident as their time together goes on throughout the film.Will is completely unwilling to open up in the first few sessions they have together, and shows a great deal of defensiveness. He dodges and redirects questions, and Sean goes along with it for a while. Finally, Sean actually challenges Will's weak defense mechanisms, and after a few unproductive sessions, Will begins to open up. 2. What contemporary school of psychological thought does Sean Maguire belong to? How do you know this? What parts of the movie lead you to this conclusion? 3 .What have you gained from watching the movie that you can translate into your own life? I have learned that we are all eventually trying to find our purpose in life. Some take longer than others. However, a little help and a push in the right direction helps speed up the process, unfortunately millions of people do not get that opportunity. Sadly, many spend their lives doing something that is nowhere close to what they are really meant to be doing. Unfortunately, in today's world, circumstances determine what and how you eve to live your life.We spend so much time thinking what others perceive us as that we eventually lose track of who we really are. A classroom can teach you many things life cannot. So long as you are willing to learn from everything and everyone around you. We all need genuine friends and catalysts to help us find our journey. How we respond to their advice helps speed up the process. We all need to find someone that makes us tick. In addition, never let go of t hem. It helps if they are of the opposite sex – only if that is your preference.