Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Stereotypes of Italian Americans in Film and Television
Stereotypes of Italian Americans in Film and Television Italian Americansà may be European in ancestry, but they were not always treated as white in the United States, as the pervasive stereotypes about them demonstrate. Not only did Italian immigrants to America face employment discrimination in their adopted homeland, but they also faced violence by whites who viewed them as ââ¬Å"different.â⬠Because of their once marginalized status in this country, ethnic stereotypes of Italians persist in film and television. On the big and small screen, alike, Italian Americans are all too often portrayed as mobsters, thugs and peasants hawking spaghetti sauce. While Italian Americans have made great strides in U.S. society, their characterization in popular culture remains stereotypical and troublesome. Mobsters Fewer than .0025 percent of Italian Americans are involved in organized crime, according to theà Italian American News website. But one would be hard-pressed to know that from watching Hollywood television shows and movies, where just about every Italian family has mob ties. In addition to films such as ââ¬Å"The Godfather,â⬠ââ¬Å"Goodfellas,â⬠ââ¬Å"Casinoâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Donnie Brasco,â⬠television shows such asà ââ¬Å"The Sopranos,â⬠ââ¬Å"Growing Up Gottiâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Mob Wivesâ⬠have perpetuated the idea that Italian Americans and organized crime go hand-in-hand. While many of these films and showsà have won critical praise, they do little to complicate the image Italian Americans have in popular culture. Food-Makingà Peasants Italian cuisine is among the most popular in the United States. Accordingly, a number of television commercials depict Italians and Italianà Americans flipping pizzas, stirring tomato sauce and squashing grapes. In many of these commercials, Italian Americans are portrayed as heavily accented, robust peasants. The Italian American News website describes how a Ragu commercial features ââ¬Å"several elderly, overweight Italian American women in housedresses [who] are so delighted with Raguââ¬â¢s meat sauce that they turn somersaults and play leapfrog in a meadow.â⬠An undue amount of food ads portray Italian women as ââ¬Å"elderly, overweight housewives and grandmothers wearing black dresses, housecoats or aprons,â⬠the site reports. ââ¬Å"Jersey Shoreâ⬠When MTV reality series ââ¬Å"Jersey Shoreâ⬠debuted, it became a pop culture sensation. Viewers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds faithfully tuned in to watch the group of mostly Italian American friends hit the bar scene, work out at the gym, tan and do laundry. Butà prominent Italian-Americans protestedà that the bouffant-haired stars of the show- self-described Guidos and Guidettes- were spreadingà negative stereotypes about Italians. Joy Behar,à co-host of ABCââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The View,â⬠said that ââ¬Å"Jersey Shoreâ⬠did not represent her culture. ââ¬Å"I do have a masterââ¬â¢s degree, so a person like me is rather annoyed with a show like that because I went to college, you know, to better myself, and then these idiots come out and make Italians look bad,â⬠she said. ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s awful. They should go to Firenze and Rome and Milano and see what Italians really did in this world. Itââ¬â¢s irritating.â⬠Bigoted Thugs Anyone familiar with Spike Leeââ¬â¢s films knows that he has persistently depicted Italian Americans as dangerous, racist thugs from New York Cityââ¬â¢s working class. Italian Americans such as these can be found in a number of Spike Lee films, most notably ââ¬Å"Jungle Fever,â⬠ââ¬Å"Do The Right Thingâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Summer of Sam.â⬠When Lee criticized Django Unchainedà director Quentin Tarantino for turning slavery into a spaghetti Western,à Italian groups called him a hypocrite because of the thread of anti-Italian bias that runs through his films, they said. ââ¬Å"When it comes to Italian Americans, Spike Lee has never done the right thing,â⬠said Andre DiMino, president of the Italian American One Voice Coalition. ââ¬Å"One wonders if Spike Lee is indeed a racist who hates Italians and why he harbors a grudge.â⬠One Voice voted Lee into its Hall of Shame because of his portrayals of Italian Americans. In particular, the group criticized ââ¬Å"Summer of Samâ⬠because the movie ââ¬Å"descends into a panoply of negative character portrayals, with Italian Americans as mobsters, drug dealers, drug addicts, racists, deviants, buffoons, bimbos, and sex-crazed fiends.ââ¬
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Sea Water Intrusion in Estuaries Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Sea Water Intrusion in Estuaries - Article Example The results obtained using the model includes the measure of water level, discharge and salinity level. These have shown good agreement with the observed results. Also, a direct relationship between longitudinal salt dispersion with flood-ebb loop length and tidal efficiency is also confirmed in this study (Nguyen et al, 2008b). The prediction of the salinity distribution in the complex situations like multi-channel estuaries like Mekong delta have also been reported in the literature (Nguyen and Savenije, 2006). Mekong delta is unique in its character. It has large number of branches and transports huge quantity of water (2000 cu.m per second) even during summer. The prediction model is framed on the principle that the multi-channel estuarine system would function as single entity and the paired branches could be appropriately combined to one. The results obtained from the analysis show that steady state models could predict the salinity levels very well. They could also explain the equilibrium conditions established in the estuaries during variable flow period especially during the dry seasons. Also, authors have computed the system response time for Mekong also. The data used in the paper was collected during the period 1991 to 1998. As Mekong delta is a very active morphologically, it's topography too is undergoing continuous change due to the transport of sediments through the river. Hence, the model would require continuous improvement by incorporating the recent topographical details. Further, the model also has parameters like mean estuary depth and river discharge that have high degree of uncertainty (Nguyen and Savenije, 2006). Determination of fresh water discharge is essential for quantification of salinity distribution. In the case of very low flows the salinity distribution is observed to be maximum. But the low fresh water flows coupled with high tidal flows make the accurate estimate of fresh water discharges very difficult. And in the case of Mekong delta, the multi channel characteristics make the accurate direct determination of discharge computation very cumbersome. A reliable model has been proposed to estimate the river discharge under the above situations (Nguyen et al, 2008a). The principle applied in this process is the reverse calculation, from the known values of salinity distribution the authors have developed equations to determine the river discharge. In this connection, two separate approaches have been attempted for different clusters of rivers in this basin. In the first approach, based on the information on the salinity distribution and estuarine shape of each branch the discharge i n the individual branches is computed. And in the other approach, from the combined shape of estuarine branches and the salinity distribution, the combined discharge is estimated. These analytical models could be used to compute the river discharges in multi channel estuarine regions by collecting the salinity distributions (Nguyen et al, 2008a). References Nguyen, A.D. and Savenije, H.H.G Salt intrusion in multi channel estuaries : a case study in Mekong delta, Vietnam, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 2006, 743 -754. Nguyen, A.D., Savenije, H.H.G, Pham, D N and Tang, D T, Using salt intrusion measurements to determine the freshwater discharge distribution over
Friday, November 1, 2019
Human Freedom and the News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Human Freedom and the News - Essay Example There is also in general a lessening of the ability that people have to air their views regarding matters of their own lives. According to humanist views t5his kind of a weakening of human agency is not desirable. There may be certain views regarding human agency that talk of the importance of the privileging of the agency of the collective over the individual; the humanist view is at the other extreme of such a view and privileges the importance of the individualââ¬â¢s right to decide his or her own future. The philosophical impact of this issue involves also the ideas of equality that are put into jeopardy when the army invades the private spaces of the people who are on either side of the border. There are obviously always several sides that take up different positions as far as Indo-Pak relations are concerned. This may be due to the strategic position that both countries occupy during the present political era. Mahendra Vedââ¬â¢s article ââ¬Å"India, Pakistan continue to talk through tensionsâ⬠talks of the situation where there is an acceptance of the situation whereby there has been a breach in the relations between the two states that have then led to loss of freedom on both sides of the border (Ved, 2013). However, another essay by Mohammed Iqbal talks about the condition that worsens the situation where both the countries are in denial regarding the situation and the need for talks (Iqbal, 2013). The process of talks that is to be seen as an assertion of human agency is not taken to a logical conclusion. Instead, what happens is a blunting of certain notions of agency for the other. The decision of the leaders of the state are then considered to be the ones that need to be taken into account and not those of the people of the state. The state then becomes the main agent that destroys the force of human agency. The concepts of humanism were discussed at great length by a philosopher like Rene Descartes who felt that one needs to express a g reat deal of doubt regarding the philosophies that have been assigned to one by larger narratives. These metanarratives are questioned by Descartes and he advocates the use of oneââ¬â¢s own reason for the purpose of understanding the world in general. The importance of humanist ideology in his thought can be understood from the following lines- But, to this end, it will not be necessary for me to show that the whole of these are falseââ¬âa point, perhaps, which I shall never reach; but as even now my reason convinces me that I ought not the less carefully to withhold belief from what is not entirely certain and indubitable, than from what is manifestly false, it will be sufficient to justify the rejection of the whole if I shall find in each some ground for doubt (Descartes). In the conflict that has been described above, one may wonder how humanism can be applied. The aspect of humanism that rejects any metanarrative can then be used to look at the Indo-Pak conflict. This co nflict is largely created through the refusal of the two states to accept the individual agencies of the people who are a part of these nations. The state then seeks to create for the people a metanarrative that suppresses the individual narratives that are sought to be created. Such narratives are sought to be created through various means such as music, art, literature and sports. These too are made to fall into the larger nationalist narrative as is seen in the politicization of the major
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Introduction to the Law of Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Introduction to the Law of Evidence - Essay Example However, in case the police arrive at a crime scene and there is no suspect within the site, then the police officers have to conduct a thorough investigation of the crime scene and look for any possible links that could lead to the identification of the real suspect. In most occasions, the police dust for fingerprints at the crime scene in order to discover who was at the scene of crime and perhaps try to identify the key suspect(s). Additionally, in the recent past, police officers have been dusting the crime scene for ear prints even thou there has been heated debate on the reliability or accuracy of ear prints as evidence to a similar extent as fingerprints. In this regard, the National Training Center for Scientific Support for Crime Investigation in the United Kingdom has been a compiling a database for ear prints in order to prove that ear prints are not similar and hence, they can be equally used as evidence (Dennis, 2013). This present essay aims at providing answers to prob lem questions that are based on a case study that revolves around the law of evidence. 1. Whether the prosecution can rely upon ear prints and fingerprints as evidence To begin with, Smith and Gordon (1997) described evidence as a piece of information that aims at proving or refuting facts that have been presented. In law, evidence provides a basis for understanding what happened at a particular time. In the writings by Dennis (2013), he wrote that law of evidence is ââ¬Å"the body of rules that determine whether and even how a piece of evidence can be used as a means of proving a fact.â⬠Moreover, the law of evidence regulates what can be legally admissible in the court of law for the purpose of proving or refuting facts that have been presented in a given case and even, on occasion, how the court should consider the evidence that has been presented. In normal police investigations, police officers always try to discover who was at the crime scene, before, during, and after a crime has occurred, which could range from murder, burglary, or even rape. In order to identify the presence of somebody in a particular crime scene police officers look for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample. Calladine et al. (2003) described DNA as ââ¬Å"a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions that are used in the functioning and development of all living organisms. Police investigations rely on DNA samples, which can be obtained from blood samples, hair, fingerprints and even ear prints, because they are purely identical or interlined to one single person. Berry and Watson (2003) clarified on this point by stating that it is only DNA samples of identical twins that may match to a greater extent but ordinarily DNA are restricted to one particular person. Based on this knowledge, prosecutors greatly rely on DNA samples to prove the presence of a particular person at a crime scene and hence, relate him or her with the crime committed. In the present case study, police off icers carrying out investigations into the death of Jeremy Spring dusted the deceased apartments for fingerprints and ear prints in order to identify the likely suspect, who murdered Jeremy Spring. Henry Wyntherââ¬â¢s fingerprint and ear print sample were found within the apartment but the fingerprint sample had only six matching ridge characteristics while the ear print only showed gross features. With reference to the writings by Ramsland (2013), it can be stated that the prosecution
Monday, October 28, 2019
Theory Analysis Essay Example for Free
Theory Analysis Essay The ultimate goal of theory evaluation is to determine the potential of the theory to scientific knowledge. Hardy â⬠¢Theory evaluation: o meaningful and logical adequacy oOperational and empirical adequacy oTestability oGenerality oContribution to understanding oPredictability oPragmatic adequacy Logical adequacy (diagramming) identifying all theoretical terms (concepts, constructs, operational definitions, referents). Theory is a set of interrelated concepts and statements Emprical adequacy- single most important criterion for evaluating a theory applied in practice. Margaret Ellis Identified characteristics of significant theories Scope Complexity Testability Usefulness Implicit values of the theorist Information generation Meaningful terminology Choose two of the theory evaluation approaches that are discussed in chapter 5 of McEwen. Locate the original sources of these two theorists; some articles are in Course Resources for you. Compare and contrast the strategies that they advocate for theory evaluation. What commonalities do you see? How do the two approaches differ? Could you use a synthesized version of the two approaches? Share your insights with your group under Analytic approaches topic. All postings due by 10/12. I chose to compare and contrast the theory evaluation approaches of Rosemary Ellis and Margaret E. Hardy. Ellis uses various characteristics such as scope, complexity, testability, usefulness, implicit values, information generation and meaningful terminology to identify the significance of nursing theory (Ellis, 1968). Hardy on the other hand, has a different set of criterion for evaluation theory: meaningful and logical adequacy, operations and empirical adequacy, testability, generality, contribution to understanding, predictability and pragmatic adequacy (Hardy, 1973). I noticed more similarities than differences in the two theory evaluation approaches. The first similarity I noted was that both theorists referred to hypothesis as a defining component of the development of a theory. Ellis states that theories are insignificant if they do not generate a hypothesis of some sort (Ellis, 1968). Hardy states that a theory is made up of ââ¬Å"hypothesis derived from axioms, initial hypothesis or postulatesâ⬠(Hardy, 1973). The second similarity I found between both theorists was the characteristic of ââ¬Å"usefulnessâ⬠as a prime characteristic for the significance of a theory. Ellis states that theories are not considered significant if their usefulness is not explored to develop and guid e practice (Ellis, 1968). Similarly, Hardy has a characteristic of pragmatic adequacy, which is essentially the usefulness of a theory (Hardy, 1973). The third similarity I found was the characteristic of ââ¬Å"information generationâ⬠used in both theory evaluation approaches. Ellis states that significant theories are ââ¬Å"capable of generating a great deal of new informationâ⬠(Ellis, 1968). Hardyââ¬â¢s characteristic of ââ¬Å"contribution to understandingâ⬠is similar in that it explores new ideas, insight, and different ways of looking at the theory (Hardy, 1973). The last similarity I found was the shared characteristic of generality and scope. Ellis states that the broader the scope of the theory, the greater the significance of the theory (Ellis, 1968). Similarly, Hardy believes the more general a theory is; the more useful it is (Hardy, 1973). I noticed a few differences between the two theorists. The first difference I noted was their views on the testability of a theory. While Ellis lists testability as a characteristic, she does not require it to be significant to the evaluation of the theory. She goes so far as to say that ââ¬Å"testability could be sacrificed for scope, complexity, and clinical usefulnessâ⬠(Ellis, 1968). On the contrary, Hardy lists testability as an important attribute to evaluating a theory, and goes into further detail on how to measure the theory. The most obvious difference between the two approaches is the contrasting characteristics listed to evaluate the theory. Hardy lists logical adequacy, operational/empirical adequacy and predictability, while Ellis lists complexity, and implicit values of the theorist. I do think that there could be a synthesized version of the two approaches since they do share more similarities than differences. I would chose Margaret Hardyââ¬â¢s approach over Rosemary Ellisââ¬â¢s, due to the detailed characteristics listed in her evaluation method. I felt her points were more concise, and worked well together as a criterion for evaluating a theory. References: Ellis, R. (1968). Characteristics Of Significant Theories. Theory Development in Nursing, 17(3), 217-222. Hardy, M. (1973). Theories: Components, Development, Evaluation. Theoretical Foundations for Nursing, 23(2), 100-106.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
SERVICE SYSTEMS :: Business and Management Studies
SERVICE SYSTEMS There are many establishments where food is served outside the home, these include: ÃË Commercial o Restaurants o Cafà ©Ã¢â¬â¢s ÃË Non-commercial (Institutional/On-site) o Business o Government o Education ÃË Military In each type of establishment food will be served in a different way, service systems are defined by what dishes and utensils are used, but mainly by the manner of presenting the meal to the customer, clearly the type of service is defined by the desired target customer. These are the major food service systems: Table service ÃË Plate service ÃË Gueridon service ÃË Silver service ÃË Family service Other Service Types ÃË Buffet Service ÃË Take away service ÃË Counter service ÃË A la carte ÃË Table dââ¬â¢hote Specialist food service systems ÃË Hospital Service ÃË In-Flight Meal Service Type of service depends on the menu, dà ©cor, uniforms, table settings, ambiance and cuisine. Table Service Table service is a method of food service in which the waiter brings customersââ¬â¢ food to the table and places it in front of them. There are a number of different styles of table service: Plate service / American service All food is cooked, portioned and plated in kitchen. It is then served by a waiter to the customer, generally this is done from the right with the right hand. This type of table service reduces staff requirements compared to other types e.g. Gueridon service. Advantages ÃË Casual dining ÃË Portion control ÃË Less service skill needed Disadvantages ÃË Less personal ÃË Guests can not choose portion Guà ©ridon (French Service-service à la franà §aise) This is an elaborate type of service in which the guestââ¬â¢s food is prepared in the kitchen and is subsequently arranged on silver salvers, which are placed on and served from a small cart called a Guà ©ridon. The food is heated or flamed at the table side using a small heater placed on the cart; three courses can be served from the tableside Advantages ÃË Elegant, ÃË Showcases food, ÃË Great amount of checking of food can be done Disadvantages ÃË Need highly trained staff, ÃË High labour costs ÃË Capital investment in cart ÃË Large amount of space is required for the cart to go around the table ÃË Fewer tables in dining room. Silver Service (Russian service, or service à la russe) The food is prepared and portioned in the kitchen and placed onto silver platters, a dinner plate is placed in front of the customer, in general the right side is for plates and left side is for food ââ¬â Counter clockwise. Served to the customer using a fork and spoon from the silver platter. This service system is used in banquets. Advantages ÃË Elegant ÃË Faster than French Service ÃË Fully cooked, hot food served at the table quickly
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Crime is a complex and evolving concept Essay
Crime is a complex and evolving concept. To what extent can it be explored by focussing on social harm? This essay aims to explore and critically evaluate some of the ways ââ¬Ëcrimeââ¬â¢, in both its lawful definition and commonly interpreted definition can be broadened, from context-specific behaviours and explore how social harm may be a useful concept in understanding ââ¬Ëbeyond the borderââ¬â¢ of crime (Open University, 2010). Social harm is a ââ¬Ëdisciplinary approach organised around the concept of harmââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). This approach encompasses ââ¬Ëphysical harmsââ¬â¢ inclusive of ââ¬Ëpremature deathââ¬â¢ or ââ¬Ë serious injuryââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëfinancial and economic harmââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëemotional and psychological harmââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ë sexual harmââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëcultural safetyââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). The primary ideology of social harm is to show that the standard notion of harm does not fully include the harms that o rganisations cause globally. The social harm concept is trying to understand the harms that occur within society. It examines the harm that occurs in society and also attempts to understand the sorts of behaviours that cause the greatest level of harm. The way that those harms are both perpetrated, how these harms are viewed from different levels of society both locally and globally (Open University, 2010). ââ¬ËCrimeââ¬â¢ is thought of as destructive or violent personal acts or behaviours such as drug offences, knife crimes and sexual assaults. In western societies, a typical definition of ââ¬Ëcrimeââ¬â¢ is ââ¬Ëdoing something forbidden by lawââ¬â¢ (home office, 2007). The limitation of this definition is reliance on the knowledge a crime has been or is being committed and being able to obtain substantial enough evidence to hold a person accountable for their actions. ââ¬ËInvisible crimesââ¬â¢ such as ââ¬Ëabuse, slavery and traffickingââ¬â¢ are overlooked as a focus on ââ¬Ëstreet crimeââ¬â¢ such as the ââ¬Ëwar on drugsââ¬â¢ is spotlighted (Open University, 2010). It is this stereotypical ââ¬Ëstreet crimeââ¬â¢ that carries the brunt of attention in both a historical criminological perspective and a general public view on criminality (Open University, 2010). When exploring the legal construction of ââ¬Ëcrimeââ¬â¢ Paul Tappan (1947 PG 1 00) defined ââ¬Ëcrimeââ¬â¢ as, ââ¬ËAn international act in violation of criminal law (statutory and case law), committed without defence or excuse and penalised by the state as a felony or misdemeanourââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). With this ââ¬Ëargument taken to its logical conclusionââ¬â¢, there are conditions that have to be fulfilled before any actà can be legally defined as a crime (Open University, 2010). The ââ¬ËAct must legally be prohibited at the time it is committedââ¬â¢, the ââ¬Ëmens reaââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëactus reusââ¬â¢ must be present in the mind of the perpetrator and there must be a pre ââ¬Ëprescribed punishment for the committal of the actââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). Criminal law ââ¬Ëtends to individualise crimeââ¬â¢ although as no crime can be given a punishment unless it has already been deemed a crime it shows considerable ambiguities within the construction of crime itself (Open University, 2010). The powerful and elite both ââ¬Ëdefine and evadeââ¬â¢ the law locally and globally. It can be argued that ââ¬Ëcrimeââ¬â¢ is a social construction created by the powerful for the benefit of the powerful and exploring this in relation to social harm highlighted further imbalances within this framework (Open University, 2010). Acts and behaviours may be more damaging and have far wider consequences although these do not fall under the crimin al spotlight. Eco crime is a crucial example in highlighting the imbalances within the notions of criminology. There is ââ¬ËMounting evidence regarding the perils facing earthââ¬â¢s sustainable development and the causes and consequences of environment threatening eventsââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). All forms of pollutants are ââ¬Ëkey cause of death and disease. Air pollution causes around ââ¬Ë800.00 (1.2% of total) premature deaths (Cohen et al., 2005). Global warming is referred to as a ââ¬Ëweapon of mass destructionââ¬â¢ by the IPCC (IPCC,. 2007). As the amount of deaths caused by Eco Crimes is growing, the number of environmental laws are ââ¬Ëexpandngââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). ââ¬ËCollectivly there are more treaties, protocols, directives and statutes that address environmental issues than any other area of lawââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). This although is still not sufficient for solving the issues that arise with eco-crime, as cross-cultural regulations and laws lead to ââ¬Ëmajor problemsââ¬â¢ when trying to reduce ââ¬Ëcultural harmââ¬â¢ and damage to the environment. The large corporate oil company British Petroleum (BP) has been involved in numerous cases of crimes against the environment. According to a newspaper article, published by The Guardian in December 2007, over ââ¬Ë200,000 gallons of crude oilââ¬â¢ were released into the ââ¬Ëwildernessââ¬â¢ in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (Open University, 2010). This although an act of pollution covered by regulation and law never led to any criminal convictions or personalà accountability. BP were only held responsible for their action in a lawsuit filed by Alaskan officials (Open University, 2010). This highlights a large inconstancy with what we perceive Justice for a criminal act, this, in the western notion of crime usually involves individuals taking responsibility for the actions committed and receiving a punishment in the form of a custodial sentence. Further in the article it details the confirmation of plans that BP had finalised to begin mining oil in ââ¬ËTar Sandsââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). It is described as ââ¬Ëthe greatest climate crimeââ¬â¢ by Green Peace as ââ¬Ë100m tonnes of greenhouse gassesââ¬â¢ will be admitted into the atmosphere annually and it is said to ââ¬Ëkill off 147,000 sq km of forestââ¬â¢. Bp accepted responsibility and did not deny the enormous carbon footprint that they would be leaving in the environment, they argued the fact that oil is an amenity that is a crucial part of modern day life and ââ¬Ënew suppliesââ¬â¢ are needed to ââ¬Ëmeet increasing demand for oil productsââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). This again is an incident of BP severely harming the environment although oil is of high importance within society and it could be argued that ââ¬Ëprovided it is extracted legallyââ¬â¢ and safely the side effects and damage to the environment will usually be put down to ââ¬Ëunavoidable side-effectsââ¬â¢ rather than a criminal offence (Open University, 2010). Large corporate companies have been involved in many environmental issues but this is overshadowed by their position of power, in the case of BP it is supply and demand, as the majority of the population in western communities rely on the oil mined for by BP the damage can be overlooked as long as BP are operating in a legal framework for trade. In some cases it has been known that corporate power play a large role in ââ¬Ëlobbying governmentsââ¬â¢ in an attempt to challenge regulations and laws that they view are ââ¬Ëlimiting their activityââ¬â¢ (Open University, 2010). Corporations work hard in an attempt to ââ¬Ëpre-emptââ¬â¢ regulatory routines to ââ¬Ëavoid legal restriction (Open University, 2010). The ability to apply ââ¬Ëcrimininal lawââ¬â¢ to damaging Moreover, harmful activities are problematic. ââ¬ËIt is difficult, if not impossible to quantify the scale of corporate harmââ¬â¢ although there also lies a problem with pinpointing the source of harm as air pollution can have a global effect. Unless someone is killed as a direct result of contamination that can be traced back to a source there, is no way of defining or controlling boundaries of responsibility. When looking at this from the perspective of social harm ità is clear to see that the level of harm inflicted on people and the environment although wholly unmeasurable is a product of power that affects people on a global level. The concept of crime does not ââ¬Ëtake into account a wider range of conductââ¬â¢ that defines a behaviour as ââ¬Ëcriminal or notââ¬â¢. A social harm perspective will allow exploration of harms and damage that look beyond the short term benefit to society and take into account the long standing effects that may occur if these acts and behaviours are allowed to be committed (Op en University, 2010). In conclusion, I feel that exploring crime focussing on social harm highlights the ââ¬Ëspace between and within the lawsââ¬â¢ in both local and global legal systems. Taking on more of the concepts of social harm will allow for a deeper insight into what effect the corporate power has over the governments and the shaping of laws and regulations. I do not feel that the social harm theory is able to replace the notions of criminology but will aid in exploring the full extent that actions and behaviours have, even if they are committed within an entirely legal framework, on everyone involved and make a fairer and more balanced legal system. References OPEN UNIVERSITY DD301/BOOK 1, MUNCIE, J., TALBOT, D. and WALTERS, R., 2010. Crime: local and global. Chapter 5: Crime, harm and corporate power. Cullompton: Willan Publishing, in association with The Open University. OPEN UNIVERSITY DD301/BOOK 1, MUNCIE, J., TALBOT, D. and WALTERS, R., 2010. Crime: local and global. Chapter 6: Eco Crime. Cullompton: Willan Publishing, in association with The Open University.
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