Legal week, Lucid language - Emphasis

Legal week, Lucid language Legal week, Lucid language Plain language need not mean dumbing down. Clear, well-drafted advice makes things easier for clients, raising the chance that they will call on you more frequently. The moment you become overly reliant on a thesaurus or get carried away with archaic terms is the moment you risk losing your reader. This is not to say you cannot use technical language or clarify your points, it just means thinking of your reader at all times and making sure you communicate difficult or complex topics clearly. It is all about readability, not just the vocabulary you use. That means organising the structure so that it is logical and straightforward. Complex legal principles are not always easy to convey, but easy reading doesnt necessarily have to mean extra-hard writing. The truth is that legal documents do not have to be written in language which is full of jargon and difficult for the average person to understand. The tide is turning, as law firms such as Nabarro, SJ Berwin, DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna recognise the value of better writing skills and commission specialist training programmes. In fact, Nabarro recently launched a high-profile, firm-wide campaign Clarity Matters to simplify the way its lawyers write. Here are some of the most common errors made by lawyers when writing and tips on remedying them. Mistake: adding in unnecessary words, such as therein, herein, forthwith and aforesaid Poor prose: I herein enclose the contract for the aforesaid book, as requested. Better prose: I enclose the contract for the book, as requested. The herein and aforesaid are unnecessary and make the sentence sound archaic and stilted. Mistake: verbosity Poor prose: Pursuant to the recent communication of the improper proposal that the information be falsified, such assertion could only have been ascertained or appreciated from a full, detailed review of the meeting notes. Better prose: The claim that the information was falsified is wrong. This would have been clear if a detailed review of the meeting notes had been conducted. The author of the first example is more than a little disgruntled. But the message is hidden behind too much flowery language. The second suggestion gets to the heart of the problem and makes the meaning clear. Note that the passive voice is used in the second example to soften the blow. You dont always have to use the active voice, just make sure that if you do use it, you do so consciously. Mistake: using nouns instead of verbs Poor prose: In the case of X, we believe the company is in possession of a structure that would be acceptable for securitisation. Better prose: X possesses a structure that is acceptable for securitisation. Possession is a noun, whereas possesses is a verb. Verbs create action in the sentence which moves the pace along and helps keep the readers interest. We believe has also been taken out as the sentence already asserts the writers belief. Mistake: overuse of the passive voice Poor prose: The role played by the client in the project has been investigated. Better prose: X investigated the clients role in the project. The first example doesnt tell us who investigated the role, creating a very impersonal tone. Using the active voice makes the writing easier to read. It also forces you to say who or what is taking the action, as the second example shows, making the sentence more specific and connecting the reader to what is happening. Of course, the passive voice can be useful where the intention is to obfuscate or create distance. Mistake: long, complex sentences and paragraphs Poor prose: As per earlier correspondence, I have attached the quotes that we have obtained from three firms (a) Hooke, Lyne and Siennker (contacts David Hooke and Franz Siennker) (This is separate to the law firm but forms part of the same group, and also has a different administrative team) (b) Edna Clouds (contacts Clare Edna and Michael Clouds I note you have already met Michael) and (c) Maybey Knott who are a limited company (the contacts there are Noel Maybey and James Knott). Better prose: Following our previous correspondence, I have attached quotes from three firms. The contacts for Hooke, Lyne and Siennker are David Hooke and Franz Siennker. Please note that this firm has a separate administration team, even though it is part of the same group. Edna Clouds contacts are Clare Edna and Michael Clouds, who you already know. Maybey Knott Ltds contacts are Noel Maybey and James Knott. When a sentence runs past three lines, you know you are in trouble. In the first example, there are also too many brackets and too much information squeezed in one space, which can become confusing. The second example takes out all the brackets and sets everything out much more clearly. Long sentences are often the result of fuzzy thinking. So, the first step is to ensure that you think before you write. That means never using the writing process to clarify your thoughts. Consider the main subject areas and issues you need to cover first. Questions are a useful prompt. Then use each heading to brainstorm all the points related to that subject. Knowing what you want to say before you write gives you a fighting chance of building a logical structure. Dealing with technical information The first step is to think about your audience and avoid a one size fits all approach. Use technical language in order to be precise. At each stage pick the best word to communicate your ideas and thoughts. The benchmark test is to think about whether another lawyer or layperson (depending on your audience) would be able to understand instantly what you mean. If not, it is time to go back to the computer and tweak it. It can also help if you try not to think of it as legal writing, but merely writing, which simply aims to communicate effectively. Punchy prose saves time and money and is far more likely to persuade the reader. It may mean a bit of extra effort, but it could well pay dividends. Robert Ashton is chief executive of Emphasis, the specialist business writing trainers.

Famous Quotes of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Famous Quotes of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus) was a respected Roman Emperor  (161–180 CE), a philosopher-king who was the last of Romes so-called Five Good Emperors.  His death in 180 was regarded as the end of the  Pax Romana  and the beginning of instability that led over time to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The reign of Marcus Aurelius is said to have symbolized the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. Known for a Rule of Reason He engaged in a number of wars and military operations aimed at quelling restive neighbors and in a costly and obsessive campaign to extend Romes northern borders. He was not best known for his military acumen, though, but for his thoughtful nature and a rule governed by reason. During his years of military campaigns, he recorded his day-to-day, discursive, fragmentary political thoughts in Greek  in untitled writings that came to be known as his 12-volume Meditations. Revered for His Stoic Thoughts in Meditations Many revere this work as one of the worlds greatest works of philosophy and a significant contribution to the modern understanding of ancient Stoicism. He practiced Stoicism and his writings reflect this philosophy of service and duty, finding balance, and reaching a state of stability and composure in the face of conflict by following nature as inspiration. But it seems his fragmentary, discursive, epigrammatic thoughts, though revered, were not original, but a reflection of the moral tenets of Stoicism, which the slave and philosopher  Epictetus had taught him. Notable Quotes From the Works of Marcus Aurelius A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea that is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires. Accept the things to which fate binds you  and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live. Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise. Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also. Begin. To begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement  and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things that  exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web. Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh. Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else. Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be. Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so. Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last. Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it...Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle. He who fears death either fears the loss of sensation or a different kind of sensation. But if thou shalt have no sensation, neither wilt thou feel any harm; and if thou shalt acquire another kind of sensation, thou wilt be a different kind of living being and thou wilt not cease to live. It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. Let it be your constant method to look into the design of peoples actions and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself. Let men see, let them know  a real man, who lives as he was meant to live. Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too. Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Natures delight. Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability. Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear. Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life. Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things that are  and to make new things like them. Perhaps there are none more lazy, or more truly ignorant, than your everlasting readers. Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. The act of dying is one of the acts of life. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. The universal order and the personal order are nothing but different expressions and manifestations of a common underlying principle. The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it. There are three classes into which all the women past 70 that ever I knew were to be divided: 1. That dear old soul; 2. That old woman; 3. That old witch. Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this, too, will be swept away. We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies come from that. When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive- to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. Where a man can live, he can also live well. You have power over your mind- not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Your life is what your thoughts make it.

Pro's of distant learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pro's of distant learning - Essay Example eo conferencing, and virtual mode) has been a mechanism that has been used to reach out into communities where individuals want to obtain an education but has not been necessarily easy to obtain using the traditional classroom setting. It has been geared to reach individuals that are at a distance and want to study but are not physically at the university campus and its surroundings and/or do not have time to take these courses using the traditional classroom setting. In today ´s day and age of information technology, distant education continues to exist and many more higher education institutions are offering these non-traditional courses. Information Technology is here to stay. There are different paradigms that are used by institutions of higher education (synchronous/asynchronous). There are forums where the students and the assessor discuss topics, ask questions, and make comments. This type of communication opened infinite possibilities in making distant education accessible to all of those individuals who want to obtain higher education recognition (diploma/degree). The visual mode within distant learning is a powerful asset. You not only communicate by writing and in some instances sound is included, but by having the visual mode incorporated into this virtual paradigm augments the possibilities given the different learning styles. According to Veenema & Gardner (1996) interactive technology could become a valuable tool in education if it takes into consideration how the human mind works. These authors stated that â€Å"†¦cognitivists argue that individuals do not just react to or perform in the world; they possess minds, and these minds contain mental representations-images, schemes, pictures, frames, languages, ideas†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 70) They emphasized that some mental representations that individuals have are that they are born with them or are formed at an early age, have proven to be enduring but that others are created, transformed or dissolved over time

E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-commerce - Essay Example The changes brought about by the Internet have even broader implications. With the advent of Internet technology, every company becomes a global company, with the means and opportunity to buy and sell from, or strike an alliance with, any company, anywhere, anytime. This golden opportunity brings with it a level of complexity that surpasses anything that all but the most far-flung global enterprises have experienced to date. The recent explosion of information and information technology (IT) has induced corporate management to utilize its ingenuity in creating the best available means to manage the flow of information, control flow channels, and integrate the different assets (both hardware and software) of IT utilized by the different departments and divisions of the corporation. As companies invest heavily in information-based systems, they are vesting more (Cunningham 23-24). Like many processes, the design of a web site can be broken down into simple steps, and each step can then be further broken down in to tasks and actions. Most researches are based on the principle that most large projects can be reduced to ‘bite-sized chunks’, thus reducing the fear factor and avoiding the sense of being overwhelmed by the gargantuan nature of the task ahead (Coltman 57). Creating an action plan, setting achievable targets within sensible deadlines, and distributing responsibility appropriately, will ensure that the project moves forwards as smoothly as possible. There are four basic stages through which the planner has to move to create an effective project plan: awareness, familiarity, understanding and readiness (Eisenberg et al 38). The web is a publishing and communication medium, and as such it needs to be focused on the audience. As with any strategic development, the company should conduct some basic market research prior to the web site development. This will help keep the company planning process focused on the customer and demonstrate that the company is aware of the wider environment in which web site exists. There are many research tools and services on the web that can assist the company with this process (Eisenberg et al 49). When setting up a web site or e-business, the company should do as much research as it can to find out who is offering similar services on-line (and off-line). It is crucial to use search engines, company lists, newsgroups and word of mouth to get as much information on competitors as the company possibly can. Most importantly, the company should not stop researching once the e-company/dotcom is off the ground. It is important to carry on researching and refining (Nielsen 30). For organizations creating a new brand, or launching themselves on to the web for the first time, the selection of an effective domain name can be a difficult process. All the 'good' names seem to have gone, and the organization's preferred domain name might have been taken by someone with no apparent claim to that name (Lucas 98). Trademark and copyright issues aside, choosing a domain name is often simpler than many organizations think: the most important aspects are that it should be memorable, and easy to spell and type. Issues relating to brand reinforcement and literal, descriptive names are secondary, and can be dealt with by effective marketing and explanatory text on the web

Brave New World and Anthem Essay Example for Free

Brave New World and Anthem Essay In both Brave New World and Anthem the underlying themes are very similar. The government controls every aspect of people’s lives, everyone is supposed to be perfectly happy with what role they are given, and the main character do not fit into what the government was deemed normal. While both books have these very similar traits, there are many differences as well; the way the government controls the people, as well as the form of government, the way people of both societies treat each other, and the situation in which the main characters are placed. In both Brave New World and Anthem the government controls everything about a person. In Brave New World the government has taken the ultimate step in controlling the people. The government has taken people’s right to have children away, and instead grow children in labs, dictating what the child’s life will be like from the time the sperm is introduced to the egg. The government adds enhancers if they want the child to come out smart, or things like alcohol to the embryo if they want it to come out stupid. Then the child is put through a series of conditioning treatments that make the child behave exactly how the government wants the child to (Huxley). In Anthem the government has also taken control of every aspect of te people’s lives. They are not as drastic as the government in Brave New World, but they put a child through a conditioning school, they choose the job that the person will do, and they choose when babies will be made. In Anthem the government is a council of leaders that have been chosen by the previous leaders to lead the people, and make them conform to the way that the council wants the people to think. There are councils in every city in Anthem as well as sub-council that control other aspects of life, for example the council of scholars rules over the new inventions, and studies conducted (Rand). Brave New World’s government is a series of people called controllers that rule over a continent, each controller is in charge of everything that happens in the continent be it new discoveries, or what kind of felly to show the people. The controllers have absolute power within their continents, but there is also a world council. Each controller is part of the world council and they make decisions that involve more than one controller’s continent. In the books the government has taken measures to see that everyone is perfectly happy, no matter what the cost of happiness is. In Anthem the children are taught from infancy that they would be perfectly happy if they loved their brothers and did their best to serve them. The children were punished if they tried to do something that their brothers would not like, or would not benefit the rest of the population. This method did not always work because some people where resistant to the ideas, and would always think in a different way that would make them unhappy. Also in Anthem the men are taught to stay happy they must serve their brothers fully and not interact with women at all. It is a crime to interact with women outside of the time of breeding. While in Brave New World the government took the children from birth and used conditioning as well as things like electric shocks to make the children think a certain way. This method is used until the children reach adulthood, and then to keep the population happy they are given a drug called soma. Soma is a mind altering drug ha makes the people happy an forget all their worries. The government convinced everyone that Soma was solution to the unhappiness in the world. Yet, this happiness is one reduced to sheer consumerism, just as politics in the brave new world is degraded to conformism. ( Diken Bulent). More tellingly yet, the only alternative set in the book against this sterile, suffocating civilization is religious fundamentalism (Diken Bulent). Another way that the government in Brave New World fools everyone into thinking that they are happy is by teaching the population that everyone belongs to everyone, and that having sex with as many people as possible as often as possible is a good thing, and is highly encouraged. The main characters in both Brave New World and Anthem do not fit into what the governments see as the perfect world. In Anthem Equality 7-2521 who was born into his society wanted to be a scholar, and help his brothers with his ideas, and inventions, but he was assigned to be a street sweeper. When Equality tried to change his life, and took the light bulb to the scholars hoping that they would accept him into their ranks and let him study with them. Equality was then punished and sentenced to death for trying to help his brothers better themselves, but escaped with his beloved and founded a new colony in which the mind would not be oppressed by the government. In Brave New World John is a boy from a reservation brought into society as an experiment, he does not understand the logic of the people, or the way they are until he meets the controller of the continent. While everyone that was raised in society is very promiscuous, and open with everything, John who was raised on the reservation only wants to be with one person, and keep his relationship private. This goes against everything that the people of civilization believe in. the differences eventually lead to John leaving the city to go live in a lighthouse far from the city. He eventually killed himself because he could no longer handle what was going on in his head, and the things going on around him. Brave New World and Anthem where very similar in the fact that they both had governments that dictated everything, things that where suppose to eliminate unhappiness, and had main characters that did not fit into the world in which they found themselves living. There where also pretty outstanding differences between the books as well though, the way the two societies viewed interactions with the opposite sex, the ways the governments where structured, and most of all the ending of the books. One character goes on to live his life with the one he loves, while the other commits suicide.

Gender Relationships in the Film Love Jones Essay -- Papers Movie Film

Gender Relationships in the Film Love Jones Using the movie Love Jones I will talk about the characteristics of male/male and female/female relationship as they are portrayed in the film. Then I will talk about how different the female/male relationship is and focus primarily on their communication styles. There is some harsh vocabulary included in my essay but only in quotations that I have taken from the movie itself to communicate what was going on in the scenes I have chose to talk about. Female/female relationship Josie and Nina Nina is one of the main characters in this movie and Josie is her best friend. A scene where their friendship is characterized is one where Josie and Nina are riding in a cab. Josie gets upset with Nina (briefly) when she finds out that Nina has had sex with Darius (the other main character) on the first night they went out. The haste in which they have had sex does not bother her as much as the fact that Nina does not tell her. This example is a direct correlation to one of the themes of women?s friendship that intimacy is cultivated through dialogue. This suggest that women build closeness in their friendships dialogue and by Nina not telling, it breaks the code of intimacy in a way. The establishment of a new relationship something like this that is an important part of Nina?s life, and excluding Josie from that is what is troubling her. Even though I do not believe that to be true in this example, that can be argued as a reason Nina doesn?t share. So, once Josie gets over the initial shock of the news, she wants Nina to tell all the details ?how big, how long, everything!? The two women then begin to discuss the sexual relationship as only women can do. Nina says, ?It was lik... ...*in toasted oats? and mumbles some more stuff on the way out of the house. The next morning, Nina is gone without any words of goodbye, but the engagement ring that Marvin had given her was left on his pinky when he woke up to an empty bed. In this scene there are a few places where the communication styles were conflicting. Nina wanted Marvin to be open and welcoming when she came home from work. He was abrasive and demanding, which was not what she wanted at that moment. Also, he was telling her what to do. He wanted her to sit around at home and not work and it was no conducive to her plans. My analysis of these Female/Male relationships is that there is so many problems in them because the ways of communicating are conflicting. I think that in part the break down can also be because people are not willing to try to make the individual situations work.

Private cars should be banned in Hong Kong Essay

In this modern world, the majority of people in rich cities own cars. Cars are cool, comfortable, and convenient. But have people ever thought about and realized the damage private cars are doing to our community? I think not. People buy cars for their own benefit, with no regard for the fact that the emissions from vehicles are contributing to global warming. Moreover, especially in overpopulated Hong Kong, the high density of private cars causes massive traffic jams and accidents. Therefore, the environment would be better off if private cars were banned in Hong Kong. It would not only reduce the effect of global warming, but also decrease the risk of disastrous accidents. Therefore, I strongly believe that all private cars should be banned in Hong Kong for the benefit of our polluted society. Hospital deaths due to respiratory and circulatory diseases, and nitrogen dioxide and respiratory moralities, reflect the impact of air pollution in Hong Kong caused by car emissions. A lot of people are suffering from asthma attack due to the polluted air in Hong Kong. And there is too much oxide going into the atmosphere and producing the greenhouse effect. In Hong Kong, nearly 10 % of the population own cars. And the density of traffic is really high, meaning if everyone drives their car at the same time, there is not enough road space to accommodate all cars. So there will be more traffic jams and a much higher risk of accidents. In one week, there is at least a few car crashes, and on a yearly basis, there is bound to be at least a few hundreds. Also, getting caught in a traffic jam wastes a lot of fuel with undue emissions causing even more air pollution. Fuels are expensive in Hong Kong and fossil fuels are running out rapidly. If people do not take private cars and use public transport instead, then less fuel is used. Every morning when we go to school, there is always traffic jam, and at least half the road space is taken up by private cars. In Hong Kong, rarely a 7 seat car is full. It is almost impossible to find one that is full. So that wastes a lot of space. If people take public transport instead, the seats will be fully utilized. Despite all those disadvantages, I must say that cars are more comfortable than public buses, and that we have more space and freedom inside our own vehicle. Also most people consider taking private cars saves more time than waiting for buses. But have people ever pondered that taking public buses is just as fast without the private cars blocking the road, and having private cars actually obstructs and slows down the travelling speed and therefore wastes even more time. And owning a private car is only for our own selfish enjoyment. People may argue that with more people using private cars, car manufacturers enjoy more business, but that would also mean lower requirement for public vehicles and hence fewer jobs for bus drivers. If everyone believes that every family should own a car, public transport will no longer be in demand and many jobs will be lost to the local community. With all these disadvantages, I believe that establishing a law to ban private cars is the right thing to do. It not only helps save money, decreases the risk of car accidents, eases traffic flows, but also contributes to a better environment. I forcefully urge that we should ban private cars in Hong Kong.

Brand Failures

Companies don't blame the product, (but) they blame the brand. Brands also transformed the process of marketing into a process of perception-building. Image is now everything: consumers consider more important the perception of the brand than the real product. Why branding is everything? Because companies live or die on the strength of the brand: one mistake and the customer can break the loyalty bond RULES why brands fail l. Brand Amnesia. For old brands, memory becomes a problem. When a brand forgets its identity and try to create a new identity, like Coca-Cola with New Coke. Brand Ego. Brand overestimates its importance, believe to dominate the market alone (like Polaroid in the photography market) or enter new markets that don't fit (like Harley Davidson selling perfume) 3. Brand deception. Companies sometimes lie when branding, and today consumers are really connected via Internet and can't be cheated. 4. Brand paranoia. When the brand feels an inferiority complex, imitating the competitors and reinventing the brand every six months. 5. Brand Relevance. When a market evolves, the brands risk to become obsolete.There are some myths associated with branding: I If a product is good, it will have success. This is not always true, Because good products can fail exactly like bad products. For example, Bateman was better than VS., but failed. 2. Brands are more likely to succeed than fail. Wrong. Brands fail every single day, the 80 per cent dies when introduced, and 10 per cent within five years. 3. Big companies Will always have brand success. This is false, because famous brands are also weaker. For example â€Å"New Coke†. 4. Strong brands are built on advertising.Advertising can support brands, but not build them. There are many types of failures, one of them is Classic failures Reasons why brands fail: marketing errors: like setting the wrong price or name or getting paranoid about the competition or consumers can boycott the brand because of a scand al via internet or simply because they are bad ideas New Coke case In the case of New Coke, the brand forgot its identity.

SONG essays

SONG essays The Song dynasty lasted over 300 years, from 960 to 1279. Their history is divided into two periods of northern and southern Song. The Song period was one of Chinas most peaceful and prosperous era. However the Song government was corrupt and weak. The Song Dynasty was a period in which the Chinese government was very weak. In the beginning General Chao Kuang-yin, also known as Sung T ai Tsu, was forced to become emperor in order to unify china. Sung T ai Tsu created a national army under his direct control. Once he had passed away his less competent successors were unable to keep the military under control, the military increasingly lost prestige. The weakening of Chinas military, coincided with the rise of strong nomadic nations on the boarders. During the same time of the military loss of prestige, the civil service rose in dignity. This was an examination system that had been restored in Sui and T ang and was further elaborated and regularized. Selection examinations were help every three years at the district, provincial and metropolitan levels. Only 200 ou0t of thousands of applicants were granted the jinshi degree. This was the ghgest degree and appointed on government posts. From this time on civil servants became china most envied elite, replacing the hereditary nobles and landlords. The Song dynasty only extended over to the parts of earlier Chinese empires. The Khitans controlled the northeastern territories and the His Hsia controlled the northwestern territories. The Song emperors were unable to recover those lands so they were forced to make peace with the Khitans and the His Hsia. They gave massive amounts of payments to the barbarins under these peace terms, it depleted the state treasury and cause heavy payment on taxpaying peasants. About 100 years after the Songs first started ruling over china their government started to go through a major decline. Officaials...

All About the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution

All About the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution The Eighth Amendment reads:   Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Why Bail is Crucial Defendants who are not released on bail have greater difficulty preparing their defenses. Theyre effectively punished with imprisonment until their time of trial. Decisions regarding bail should not be made lightly. Bail is set extremely high or sometimes denied entirely when a defendant is charged with an extremely serious offense and/or if he poses a flight risk or great potential danger to the community. But in the majority of criminal trials, bail should be available and affordable. Its All About the Benjamins Civil libertarians tend to overlook fines, but the matter is not insignificant in a capitalist system. By their very nature, fines are anti-egalitarian. A $25,000 fine levied against an extremely wealthy defendant might only impact his discretionary income. A $25,000 fine levied against a less wealthy defendant can potentially have a long-term effect on basic medical care, educational opportunities, transportation and food security. Most convicts are poor so the issue of excessive fines is central to our criminal justice system. Cruel and Unusual The most frequently cited part of the Eighth Amendment deals with its prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, but what does this mean in practical terms?   Dont ask the founding fathers:  The Crimes Act of 1790 mandates the death penalty for treason and it also mandates mutilation of the corpse. By contemporary standards, corpse mutilation would certainly be regarded as cruel and unusual. Floggings were also common at the time of the Bill of Rights, but today floggings would be regarded as cruel and unusual. The Eighth Amendment is more clearly affected by societal change than any other amendment in the Constitution because the very nature of the phrase cruel and unusual appeals to evolving societal standards.Torture and prison conditions: The Eighth Amendment certainly prohibits the torture of U.S. citizens in a contemporary context although torture is generally used as an interrogation method, not as an official form of punishment. Inhumane prison conditions also violate the Eighth Amendment even though they dont constitute part of the official sentence. In other words, the Eighth Amendment refers to de facto punishments whether the y are officially handed down as punishments or not. The death penalty: The U.S. Supreme Court found that the death penalty, which was applied capriciously and on a racially discriminatory basis, violated the Eighth Amendment in Furman v. Georgia in 1972. These death penalties are cruel and unusual, Justice Potter Stewart wrote in the majority opinion, in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual. The death penalty was reinstated in 1976 after serious revisions were made.Specific methods of execution prohibited:  The death penalty is legal, but not all methods of enforcing it are. Some, such as crucifixion and death by stoning, are obviously unconstitutional. Others, such as the gas chamber, have been declared unconstitutional by courts. And still others, such as hanging and death by a firing squad, have not been regarded as unconstitutional but are no longer in common use.The lethal injection controversy: The State of Florida declared a moratorium on lethal injection and a de facto moratorium on the death pena lty as a whole after reports that Angel Diaz was essentially tortured to death during a botched execution. Lethal injection in humans is not simply a matter of putting the defendant to sleep. It involves three drugs. The strong sedative effect of the first is intended to prevent the excruciating effects of the latter two.

Whats Your Dangerous Idea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Whats Your Dangerous Idea - Essay Example Common people or the governed want to be left on their own to manage their own affairs. On the other hand, the ruling class or the elites are always seeking for a pretext such as war, social disorder and poverty to increase their power over common people, hence, even in the aristocratic nation, one expects the ruled in defending their interests to delay the growth and development of centralized authority. Aristocracies or governments that repress class conflicts are always successful. For instance, countries such as ancient Rome and U.S became powerful and successful because her citizens were warlike and truculent (Machiavelli 23). Politics and religion were distinct in the sense that people in ancient Rome were not godly and absolute in anyway but they are still in a position to provide vital insight in how people operated. This is the platform and foundation of political thoughts, and how the society is to be planned and organized so that every individual benefits. My political theory offers a cure to the diseased politics in the sense that my interest in the conflicts in early societies is a reflection of my personal concerns with current state which is rife with conflict. For instance, there was tension between the Italian bourgeois and the nobility, and the poor were excluded from other social classes in society. Therefore, with all these dissensions, someone has to emerge as a winner while another as a loser. In such a case, the loser has to submit to the winner in order to establish social stability (Machiavelli 55). Politics is not similar to science because of the absence of absolute rules and regulations for how to attain and maintain authority. There are certain actions to be taken but not police to resolutely and absolutely direct ad guide people’s actions. This is because contexts, time and situations transform. Therefore, the ruler or president will not remain

Pharmacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pharmacy - Essay Example Another challenge that will be faced by pharmacists in the upcoming years (as it is today, too) is staying up-to-date. A pharmacist is expected to be in step with all possible new information in his/her field. This means being aware and familiar with the new medical information that is released and new meds that are developed and put on sale. As the information in our field is constantly changing, it is paramount to stay in the know. A pharmacist can overcome this challenge decently with help of keeping a close watch on medical news, reading current medical journals and participating in Continuous Education (CE) programs. In general, a pharmacist should seek out information that will broaden his/her horizons and improve overall knowledge. Regardless of the field of pharmacology we are involved in, we will need to interact with patients for sure. This is the part of work that will stay unchangeable and relevant forever. Although this challenge may be looming for some of us, working with patients is an integral part of pharmacy. The specificity of the target group pharmacists work with and considering all the characteristic aspects are very important. Thus, pharmacists should work on a patient-friendly communication style. It is important that complex medical information is delivered to patients in a way easily understood by them. Moreover, our target group typically includes people who are not in the pink, i.e. suffering from pain or illness. That should be kept in mind when working with patients in order to approach them with respect and provide qualified assistance. As pharmacists we all will face many complicated tasks and challenges during our professional career. However, right attitude, appropriate communication style and growing knowledge base, could help us to turn challenges into personally and professionally rewarding experiences. As my primary goal is to gain profound knowledge and professional qualification that would allow me to