Frankenstein Essay

Mary Shelley wrote the novel Frankenstein. The novel is also known as the modern Prometheus. Mary Shelley, her husband Percy and Lord Byron went to Lake Geneva. Lord Byron challenged the group to a ghost story. After that Mary Shelley had a dream which then made her start writing her ghost story. Her dream was of a boy which made a machine, a man, which showed signs of life. Mary then had the basis of her story and went on to complete the novel in 1817 and published it in 1818, in London when she was 18 years old. Another thing which influenced Mary in writing Frankenstein was Jean Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher, writer and composer in the 18th century. She was deeply motivated by his thoughts and dreams. Her description in Frankenstein closely resembles her documentations of Rousseau’s wanderings throughout his days of exile. This probably gave her an idea of making the monster alone after her idea of a man made human machine. Also Mary knew that Rousseau abandoned his children to an orphanage which Mary disapproved of, but I think this gave her the idea of Victor abandoning his creation, this also happened to Mary when she was young and it also happened to Rousseau when he was young. They were both dreamers, yet outcasts and both found inspiration in loneliness and isolation. The novel Frankenstein is also called the modern Prometheus. The reason why the novels subtitle is called the modern Prometheus is because in Greek mythology, Prometheus was the titan who stole fire from god and gave it to man. Victor stole the secret of creation of life from god in a way because he created a being in the likeness of a man. He stole this ‘fire’ or power and bought it to man just like Prometheus did. Mary Shelley evokes a sense of horror when Victor Frankenstein says in (chapter 5): â€Å"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. † This was when Victor creates life, a being in the likeness of a man. ‘Dreary’ could be dull, gloomy and evil. She included the month of November to show that it is near the end of the year and it creates a dark setting. November’ is also a cold, dreary month. It is before December (the last month of the year) so it could mean before death. ‘Beheld’ is carrying out or something which you have already carried out. It can create a sense of dread because the thing being carried out could be an evil thing which was carried out. The word ‘accomplishment’ can be victory, creation or achievement. It could be victory or achievement of the creation of something evil which creates the dread. In this case it was the achievement of creating life. ‘Toils’ is the hard work and hard work is work which is done over a long time. So if it is work done over a long period of time, than it gives you the feeling that something wicked is being created behind all the hard work. The second link is that Prometheus was the one who made humans, just like Victor did from scratch. This had lot in common with the classic Prometheus; the dream and the creation of a new species; the disregard of limits. â€Å"I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. † The point where the new being had started its life also creates a sense of fear. ‘Dull’ is gloomy, dreary, evil and deadly. Yellow’ is a colour most commonly used in dangerous and dreadful creatures for the eyes and body so it makes the monster look bloodcurdling. The words ‘open’ and ‘breathed hard’ give the feeling of something is going to happen, a feeling of tension and suspense because it is the first breath of another human created and we do not know what is going to happen. ’Convulsive’ is the jerky muscular contractions resembling a spasm. It can also be the sudden violent movement of rage. It gives us a sense of terror because of the sudden violent movement; you do not know what the monster will do because he is a new creation. Agitated’ is disturbed or trouble. His limbs were troubled and agitated. You can also see it as being in a state of anxiety and not being calm, vigorously shaking back and forth and being restless. It can mean that the monster was impatient and keen to do something. Shelley creates this sense of horror in chapter 5 by making us feel that the monster is an evil person by describing him ‘dull’ and ‘yellow’. Also it creates horror because the monster has sudden violent movements as soon as he is born and is vigorously shaking because of his distressed state. There are 10 elements of a gothic novel. These are: set in castle, which often contains secret passages and hidden parts. Some of Frankenstein is set in darkness and horror for example when before Victor created the monster; he spent nights in churchyards and charnel houses collecting remains of dead bodies in places of dark and ghostly atmosphere. Here Shelley creates the horror. â€Å"As I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave† ‘Dabbled’ can be when you dip your hand or foot into a liquid. But it can also be when someone plays around with their work and experiment things. ’Unhallowed’ is the opposite of hollow, so it is something which is not empty inside. It can also be seen as someone treating something with disrespect or violating the sacredness of something, to remove something from the grave. ‘Damp’ is something which has moisture, a slight wetness on an object. This is related to the gothic element of a setting in darkness or castle. So here, Victor is playing around with the bodies, trying to get a perfect body for his creation when he is dabbling. You can tell it is a body he wants because unhallowed is when it is not empty, and the graves are not empty because they have dead bodies which could be slight wet because they are in the ground. He is raising a body from a grave in a dark graveyard to create a new life. This is how Shelley creates the dread in this gothic element in chapter 4. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense, were fear is often enhanced by the unknown. The terrible, gloomy weather creates suspense and are also metaphors for sorrow and distress. Some gothic novels also contain ancient prophecies which could be obscure, profound or confusing. It could be omens, portents, visions or disturbing dreams like when Victor had a horrifying dream foreshadowing Elizabeth’s death. He was dreaming of Elizabeth who was healthy, but it turned out to be his mum corpse who he was kissing. Shelley creates the sense of horror here when Victor tells of his dream after he created his creation. â€Å"I slept indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as soon as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms, a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. † This was the horrifying dream which Victor had in chapter 5. He thought he saw Elizabeth in the ‘bloom’ of health. A bloom can be a blossom or a flower or a seed starting to grow into a bud or flower. The dream starts off in a cheerful manner, but the fear starts to occur after he ‘embraces’ her. Embrace is when you meet someone, shake their hands, hug them or kiss them. But when he went to ‘imprint’ the kiss on her lips the delightfulness was blown away. Imprinted’ is when you stick, print, dent, mark or impress something or someone. Here it is used as printing a kiss on her lips. ‘Livid’ is something becoming discoloured, purple, bruised, enraged or unusual. ‘Hue’ is colour, a shade or tinge of colour. The lips became discoloured and unusual; they had the shade and colour of death on them. Shelley starts to create the sense of horror here. ‘Features’ are the characteristics of something. It is something which makes up an object or thing. Elizabeth’s features are the limbs and all parts of her body like the nose and eyes. They all started to change. ‘Corpse’ is a dead body. ‘Shroud’ is a covering, blanket, veil or cloak. ‘Enveloped’ is when something encloses on an object or when something surrounds it, an attacking force. ‘Flannel’ is a soft light piece of woollen fabric. I think Shelley used this dream to show that Victor regretted making his creation. As soon as he made it, he abandoned it. The dream was probably trying to tell Victor that he had done something very awful. Also, as soon as the dream had finished and he woke up, the monster was standing over him. The corpse in his dream could be the monster and it could be a vision telling him that your creation will do the same to you; he will be pleasant to you at first like the ‘bloom of health’ but then turn horrific like the corpse and hate you if you turn away from him. It can also mean that Victor is Elizabeth, a lovely, determined man, but after creating the monster he turned heart-less and deadly like the corpse and it comes to hunt him. Supernatural inexplicable events, dramatic, amazing events occur. In Frankenstein, the monster is the supernatural being when he is created. High emotion, characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise and most often, terror like in Frankenstein the monster is very heart-broken as he finds out no one loves him, even though he loves many humans, so he becomes angry, distraught and lonely. Some gothic novels also have women in distress, threatened by a powerful, tyrannical male. They also have metonymy of gloom and horrors e. g. wind, rain, moans and howls. Terrible weather used by Mary Shelley for dread and horror in Frankenstein is an example of this. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out. † This was at the beginning of chapter 5 when Victor finishes creating his creation. Shelley used dreadful weather (a gothic element) and the completion of Victor’s creation at the same time to create the sense of horror. The monster opened his eyes just after the heavy rain started to beating against the panes. ’Pattered dismally’ is when the rain patters on your window in a dreadful and cheerless manner. ‘My candle was nearly burnt out’. It tells you how dreadful the weather was. The candle was almost burnt out inside a room, and as soon as the candle was almost burnt out, the monster opened his eyes. Shelley used this in an obvious way to create tension and that dread of the horrendous weather and light being gone out from the room combined with the yellow eyes of the monster opening. The monster in Frankenstein is symbolic of many things. Misogyny is one of them. Victor left Elizabeth for his determination of learning new ideas and to feed his craving for knowledge and learning. We sat late. We could not tear ourselves away from each other, nor persuade ourselves to say the word ‘farewell! ’ It was said; and we retired under the pretence of seeking repose, each fancying that the other was deceived. † It is symbolic of Frankenstein (the monster) because the monster stopped the doctor from being with Elizabeth. It may be a symbol of science because it is repeatedly shown in the novel as an alternat ive way of understanding the world to that offered by religion. The monster is a warning against scientific progress. The creature represents this in both its power and its deformities (both physical and moral). The warning against scientific progress is shown when Victor creates a new being and all the casualties which occur after for going advance in science, like the death of Victors brother and Elizabeth, and the loneliness, isolation and being neglected causes the creature rage and sorrow, which after causes him to become evil. It may be symbolic of the parent child relationship. The monster grows up unloved, nameless and untutored-it is a moral lesson to parents about their obligations to their children. Shelly’s tragedy is similar. She lost her mother 10 days after she was born and grew up alone most of the time, so she could be making the monster symbolic of her. It symbolises destructive nature of dangerous ambition in psychological tale. It also considers the question of whether man is born evil or made evil by society, as we see in Frankenstein, the monster is born loving and caring, but the rejection of Victor and other humans made him loose his love and was made evil by society. Shelley uses the monster to symbolise those who have lost their freedom. His purpose is political. Frankenstein contains romanticism. The romantic period had an influence on Mary Shelley. This novel contains many elements of romance, but there are three main ones. These are powerful love, unreturned love and uncertainty of reciprocation. The monster had powerful love when he was born, he was not born evil. He loved Victor very much and begged him for the redeeming power of love. But Victor disliked the monster and abandoned him and his duty to look after his creation. This was unreturned love, the second element, where the monster loved Victor, but he did not give the love back. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed downstairs†. ‘Inarticulate’ is someone who is speechless, who is not speaking clearly, and hesitating and mumbling. ’grin’ is a smile, smirk or a pleasant beam. ‘Detain’ is to hold someone, arrest or capture someone. You can see this as a non-evil side and an evil side. The negative way you can see this is the monster opening the bed curtain and fixing his eyes on Victor, as if he was going to do something to him. This is where Shelley starts to create the fear. His mouth opened to say something, he may have wanted to curse Victor or say something unpleasant towards him for creating him and then running away from him. His hand was probably stretched out to capture Victor and hold him a prisoner, before Victor runs away. I think that this is unreturned love. This is where the monster wanted to be loved, and he loved Victor. I see this as a non-evil side. The monster opened the bed curtains to wake up Victor from his horrific dream which the monster could see because of Victor’s convulsive limbs, he wanted to help Victor. His eyes were fixed on Victor because it was the first time he ever saw him properly and wanted to be loved by him. When he opened his mouth to say something, he probably wanted to say some compassionate words and then when he stretched his hands out, he probably wanted to hold Victor and hug him for creating him; for giving him life again. But Victor probably thought he was trying to attack him so he escaped, but I think that the monster wanted love which was not returned to him. An example of the third element is when the monster watched and studied a family of cottagers, he felt as if he was part of their family without even meeting them. Even after the cottager’s rejection, he still had hope that they would accept him. This shows the uncertainty of reciprocation, where someone is uncertain if something is going to be returned. In Frankenstein, the monster is the example of this, he is unsure if he is ever going to be loved. The Enlightenment was a very optimistic, yet realistic, era in history. It found people rallying for major changes to take place. The attitude of the Enlightenment was to question everything and think deeply about its meaning, challenging the importance and validity of tradition. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shelley portrays ideas about progress, optimism, liberty, fate, happiness, nature, and the physical world in a manner that supports Enlightenment attitudes. The enlightenment age encouraged everyone to use reason and science in order to rid the world of barbarism and superstition. In Frankenstein, Shelley argues that Frankenstein’s role as an enlightenment hero, not only pulled him out of nature, but made him a slave to his creation, and that Frankenstein’s role as a revolting romantic failed, because he did not take responsibility for his creation and mankind must find a balance between the enlightenment and romantic ideologies. When Victor takes a moment to ponder upon a story from his youth, we get a glimpse at the Enlightenment view of fate. Victor recalls a time when he was fifteen and lightning not just split, but splintered, a tree near his house. A well researched natural philosopher just happened to be with him at the time, and when he explained the scientific concepts that had destroyed the tree, Victor immersed himself in the study of mathematics and the sciences related to mathematics. â€Å"As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards issue from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribands of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed. † ‘Behold’ is to see, to hold, to think or be felt. ‘Stream’ is the smaller part of a river. It is also used for something wavy or floating. ‘Issue’ is a subject, concern, problem, number or copy. I think in this quote it means rising. The ‘oak’ is a type of wood and also a tree name. ‘Dazzling’ is something shining or glimmering in your eyes, and lighting is the dazzling here. ‘Blasted stump’ is a blown and horrible base or remain. Shattered’ is something broken, devastated, crushed or traumatized. A ‘singular manner’ is a shocking, extraordinary way. ‘Ribands’ is pieces of material. So in chapter 2 Victor says about how he saw a wave of fire rise from an old tree outside his house. The tree had disappeared as soon as the lightning had struck it and all that remained was the base of the tree. When he visited it the next morning, the tree was crushed in an astonishing way. It was reduced to strips of woods and he had never seen anything like this before. The enlightenment encouraged people to use science and reason to rid of false ideas and beliefs. After Victor had seen this, a man of great research of natural philosophy was with him and he explained to Victor about electricity and galvanism (electricity produced by chemical action and in biology, galvanism is the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current). Victor had never heard of these theories or ideas before about electricity. This was new to him and in future when he made his monster he used electricity from lightning to stimulate the body of movement. There is a small amount of dread and horror which Shelley has created in this quote. Words like vanishing, disappearing, shattered and splintered give you negative feelings of something happening. This can be the story of Victor when he just finished creating the monster. â€Å"As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards issue from our house†. This can be Victor standing at the door when his creation is about to be finished and he saw a new body rising from an old body which stood about 20 yards from him. And as soon as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner†. And as soon as the creature was born, Victor disappeared, the tree could be Victor, and nothing remained but the monster. When Victor visited it the next morning, the monster was traumatized and devastated in a shocking way because he was left alone at his birth. It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribands of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed† He was not devastated by being created again, but because Victor abandoned him and Victor could not believe he created a new being. This vision which he saw of the lightning could have been a warning to him not to go ahead with his ideas; otherwise there would be danger and consequences. The dream which he had in Chapter 5 after creating the monster, could have been telling him that he is now in danger and he has consequences for creating the monster.

Thomas Jefferson Biography

Biography of Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is recognized for his many accomplishments during the 18th century. Not only was he a president, but Jefferson was the author of The Declaration of Independence, a founding father of the United States, and the founder of the University of Virginia. Jefferson was a brilliant political writer who used his writing skills to separate the United States of America from Great Britain and to protect the rights of man.Jefferson addresses these rights in the declaration when he says, â€Å"All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,† (Jefferson, 1. ) These words are popular and have historical meaning. On April 13th, 1734 in Shadwell, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was born to the parents Jane and Peter Jefferson. Shadwell is a town just outside of Charlottesville . His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was from a family that claimed to be descended from English and Scottish royalty (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†).His father, Peter Jefferson, was a skilled surveyor and cartographer, which meant that he studied and practiced making maps as well as accurately determined the three-dimensional position of points. Peter produced the first accurate map of the province of Virginia. Perhaps young Jefferson got inspiration from his father. Jefferson had five siblings. He had two older sisters, two younger sisters, and one younger brother. He lived in a very busy household. As a child, Jefferson spent his free time practicing the violin and reading books. At the age of twenty four, Jefferson married Martha Jefferson.They were both from plantation families and it is believed that they were introduced to each other by mutual friends. Thomas fell for the young American girl’s education and interest in music (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). Togethe r they had six children, but only two lived to be adults. After many wonderful years married, illness fell upon Martha and she passed away on September 6th, 1782. Jefferson made a promise to her that he would never remarry. After her death, he spent three weeks mourning in his library. In a period of seclusion, Jefferson explained in his autobiography that he felt like a part of him had died after she passed (Jefferson, 42).Later on in life, Jefferson had an affair with slave-girl Sally Hemings. There isn’t much information on this story, but there was DNA proof that he fathered her child. (â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings†). Thomas Jefferson began his education at a very young age. At the age of five, his father placed him in an English school and he was attending Latin school by age nine. The Latin school was conducted by Reverend William Douglas (Beran, 78). In 1758, Jefferson attended the school of Reverend James Maury. He described Reverend Maury as â€Å"a corre ct, classical scholar† (Jefferson, 29. He later attended the College of William and Mary at the age of seventeen in Williamsburg. It was there that Jefferson began his law studies with George Wythe. Jefferson received and unofficial political and cultural education from him. For two years, Jefferson studied primarily with George Wythe and Dr. William Small. He said that Dr. Small taught him a vast majority what he knew about politics. Over the seven years of study spent at Williamsburg, Jefferson culminated in the practice of law, but without any degree. Thomas Jefferson was also strongly influenced by the political philosophy of the Enlightenment and also from John Locke.Thomas Jefferson was not a good public speaker, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his opinions of politics. In his early writing years, Jefferson mostly wrote political letters (Skarmeas, 66). His earliest published work is The Declaration of Independence. He began drafting The Declaration of In dependence after British troops had attempted to confiscate American ammunition stores and capture patriot leaders in these towns (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). The continental congress met in September of 1774 to pick a committee responsible for drafting it. Jefferson was the delegate chosen to write the important document.The Declaration of Independence was written as a letter to King George III hoping for reconciliation. The committee met several time to discuss ideas and think of what they wanted to be addressed in the document. Like most people who write something, he had to first make a rough draft (â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†). Jefferson, by himself, drafted a rough copy of the declaration. He worked on it for two and a half weeks. Only minor changes were made to his draft before it was finalized. The Declaration of Independence became Jefferson’s most popular work.This was such an important document because it formally declared that the thirteen colonies of North America were free and independent from British control (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). It served as the basis for the American Revolution. It began the formation of the federal government and a new United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was released to the public on July 4th, 1776. As time went by, the ideas of Jefferson’s words â€Å"all men are created equal† grew in importance. Northern states used them to free slaves in their states. Abraham Lincoln used equal rights to justify the Civil War (Bernstein, 156).He soon became the governor of Virginia. Jefferson also because the vice President of the United States. To occupy his times during his four years as vice president, Jefferson authored A Manual of Parliamentary. This was one of the most useful guides to legislative proceedings ever written, and served as the president of the American Philosophical Society. After Jefferson’s time as vice presiden t, he became the third President of the United States. As president, Jefferson accomplished many things, including the Louisianna Purchase (Beran, 73). This greatly expanded the size of the country.After his presidency, Jefferson settled down. His tone of writing remained the same as before though. He was still straight forward political writer who expressed his opinions through letters and documents. Jefferson did, however, write an autobiography describing his accomplishments and life journeys. He began writing this is 1821. The last thing that was written by Thomas Jefferson was a letter addressed to Roger C (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). In this letter, Jefferson thanks him for inviting him to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.He said that he was happy and hopes that the celebration serves as a reminder of the rights he had originally written about. At the end of the letter, Jefferson apologized for having to reject his invitation because of his health conditions. Thomas Jefferson lived a very eventful and successful life. In 1818, his health began rapidly declining. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and many other age related diseases (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography†). His death was mainly caused by a combination of a few things. One thing that contributed to his death was exhaustion from diarrhea. Another contributor was toxemia from a kidney infection.Uremia from kidney damage and orthostatic old-age pneumonia also added to Jefferson’s declining health. He was bed-ridden and eventually died on July 4th, 1826 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The date of his death is ironic because it was the same day as the anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. Jefferson might have lived longer under modern medical care (Bernstein, 187). Jefferson leaves behind a legacy that will always be talked about. He will forever be revered as one of the great American Founding Fathers. He was a spok esman of liberty, but had also been viewed as a racist slave owner.He was a president who expanded government authority beyond the wildest visions of his predecessors. Jefferson is a symbol for the nation he helped create. After he died, he was buried in the family cemetery at Monticello. The cemetery is located in Virginia and Jefferson’s grave is surrounded by metal fences. Beran, Michael Knox. Jefferson’s Semons: Portrait of a Restless Mind. New York City: Free Press, 2003. Print. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. Skarmeas, Nancy. Thomas Jefferson. Nashville: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998. Print. Jefferson, Thomas.Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson. New York City: Dover Publications, 2007. Print. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan Library Reference, 2008. Print. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † The Biography Channel Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 17 Ma y. 2009. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 7 September. 1993. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 4 August. 1993.Related Photo This is a picture of the sign at the Monticello Graveyard located in Virginia. The photo relates to Thomas Jefferson because the Monticello Graveyard is also known as the Jefferson Cemetery. The cemetery sits behind and slightly down the mountain, hidden from the plantation's daily life. Something of a disappointment was the fact that the locked wrought iron fence prohibited visitors from paying homage to the great man and his family. Somehow it felt as if we were being banned from his world. Thomas Jefferson was buried in this cemetery along with many other members of the Jefferson family. Literary InterpretationOne of the most recognized and most popular documents in American history is The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress, was the start of a new beginning for the United States of America. The declaration is a letter to the King of Great Britain, George III. The declaration states the reasons for the British colonies wanting independence. It explains why the colonies have overthrown their ruler. Thomas Jefferson addresses specific details for their reasoning as well as expressing his opinions of the governmental structure.Jefferson uses his strong political writing skills and his knowledge on politics to the colonies’ problems with other nations of the world. Thomas Jefferson’s purpose for writing The Declaration of Independence was to express his ideas for a better society and to help the colonies become free at the same time. â€Å"But  when a  long train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing invariably  the  same Object evinces  a  design  to  reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is  their right, it is  their duty, to  throw off such Government, and to  provide new Guards  for their future security,† (Jefferson 1).This sentence of The Declaration of Independence shows Jefferson expressing how he feels about being treated wrong. Thomas Jefferson and other members of the Second Continental Congress wanted to use the declaration to expose the abuses to the other nations of the world. They wanted to justify the action of congress by blaming the rapture on King George III. The abuses that Jefferson is discussing are the abuses that King George III has applied to the colonies of Northern America. The abuses were a result of the king’s desire of creating a tyrannical government in America.The foundation of representative government is the power of the pe ople to make laws for the public good (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). King George III interfered with that process by rejecting legislation proposed by the colonies, dissolving colonial bodies or representation, replacing colonial governments with his appointed ministers, and interfering with the naturalization of citizens in new regions. King George III extended his tyrannical control by interfering with the objective judicial processes and the civil rights of the colonies (â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†).Jefferson then uses this to create a list of unalienable rights that should be applied to everyone. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident,  that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,† (Jefferson 1). Jefferson addresses that if any form of government becomes destructive of the ends, it is the right of the people t o alter or to abolish it, laying its foundation in the belief of these rights.Jefferson uses these to lay down a basic structure of the government he want and how the people of this society should be treated. Of the abuses that were mentioned, Jefferson devoted approximately one-fourth of the abuses in his original draft of the  Declaration of Independence  to the topic of slavery. Jefferson held the King accountable for maintaining and protecting slavery as an institution in the colonies. Not surprisingly, the moderate congress, already fearful of being too radical, removed all references to slavery from the document.It remains a source of historical debate why a slave-owning man like Jefferson would have devoted so much intellectual energy to criticizing slavery and to attempting to remove it from the colonies. Jefferson thought that slavery was contrary to the laws of nature, which decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. These views were radical in a world wher e unfree labor was the norm. Jefferson spends so much time writing about slavery because he does not approve of it and he does not want to incorporate it in the society and government that he is aiming towards.It is clear that Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence to help the thirteen original colonies to become free from British control. The Declaration of Independence has much deeper meaning than just that, though. Jefferson uses the document to express exactly how he feels about the political structure of a country. From this point on, people should look at The Declaration of Independence as the guidelines and rules to how a country should be run and how the citizens of that country should be treated. Jefferson, Thomas. â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The American Experience.New York City: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. List of Authors Works 1. A Summary View of the Rights of British America 2. Draft of Constitution for Virginia 3. Original Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence 4. Draft of Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 5. Wall of Separation Letter 6. Manual of Parliamentary Practice 7. Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson Persuasive Essay Thomas Jefferson is an important figure in American history.He was one of the American Founding Fathers, the third president of the United States, and an original American politician. Thomas Jefferson is an important American author and should be taught in an English curriculum. Learning about Thomas Jefferson in an English class can teach students about his influence on early American government structures as well as the history of the thirteen original British colonies. It can also teach students about his progress and developments as an American Founding Father. Thomas Jefferson matters in Americ an literature because he is one of America’s original politicians.Thomas Jefferson is an American forefather. Not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, he was Virginia’s representative to the first Continental Congress, the governor of Virginia and the third president of the United States. As a president, Jefferson accomplished many things. He allowed the Alien and Sedition acts to end without renewal and also had the tax on liquor repealed (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). In 1803, Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million. This is considered the most important act of his administration.All of these things are important because it teaches the history of our country and Thomas Jefferson contributed to the history. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence can teach students about how America’s thirteen original British colonies became independent from King George III. If the Declaration of Independence was a ssigned to students, it would teach them the reasons for America wanting to become free from British rule. They would learn how King George III treated the thirteen colonies and what they wanted for their governmental structure.It also teaches the unalienable rights the Jefferson included in the declaration (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). As a champion of civil liberties, Jefferson valued reason above faith. This is much different from other philosophers during his time because they were the complete opposite. Learning about Jefferson’s political beliefs teaches students how he used politics to make his decisions. He was a strong supporter of the ideals of the Enlightenment. Those ideals are reason, liberty and equality (Bernstein, 98). He believed that these ideals should be used to govern nations.He put his beliefs into his writings and into the Declaration of Independence. Many people think that Jefferson should not be taught in an English curriculum because h e favored slavery and was a slave owner himself. But while Jefferson was vocally opposed to slavery, and even passed the Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves during his second term as president,  he was a slave owner and believed that black people were inferior to white people. For some, this is cause enough to dismiss Jefferson as someone for whom history has inflated their reputation, but he was a man of his time and was subject to the cultural beliefs of that time.In truth, Jefferson was instrumental in the America of today, the America that values equality and liberty and freedom. Jefferson’s actions and philosophy shaped the  ideals  of America. In fact, for America to revisit the teachings of Jefferson might be wise. In conclusion, Thomas Jefferson should be taught in English classes. Jefferson is important to American history and shaped our country. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan L ibrary Reference, 2008. Print. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. Annotated Bibliography Beran, Michael Knox. Jefferson’s Semons: Portrait of a Restless Mind. New York City: Free Press, 2003. Print. From this source, I got information about Thomas Jefferson’s education and about his life after becoming a president. I used this information in my biography essay and cited in twice. I found this book to be very helpful and it provided a vast amount of information. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. From this book, I got information about Thomas Jefferson’s work on The Declaration of Independence and on his death.I used this information in both my biography essay and in my persuasive essay. It provided a lot of information that I was able to use and I feel like it was a very reliable source. Skarmeas, Nancy. Thomas Jefferson. Nashville: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998. Print. From this book, I got information on Jefferson’s early political letters and writing. This book provided examples of his political letters and details explaining them. I used this information on the Early Writing Career portion of the biography essay. This source was very helpful. Jefferson, Thomas.Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson. New York City: Dover Publications, 2007. Print. From this autobiography, I got information on every aspect of Jefferson’s life. I used this information in all three essays. This source provided the most accurate and reliable information since it was written by Thomas Jefferson himself. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan Library Reference, 2008. Print. From this online encyclopedia, I obtained information on Jefferson’s early life. I used this information in my biography essay.There was n’t that much information from this source, but what I found was very reliable. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † The Biography Channel Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 17 May. 2009. From this source, I found a lot of information on Thomas Jefferson’s early life and his writing of The Declaration of Independence. I used this information in all three essays. This source offered a lot of information that I didn’t find anywhere else. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 7 September. 1993. From this source, I got information of Thomas Jefferson’s death.I used this information in my biography essay. This source offered very little information. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. This source offered information about why The Declaration of Independence was written. I found use of this source in all three of my essays. This source offered a lot of detailed a lot of d etailed information. It was a very reliable source. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. This source offered information about the Declaration of Independence.I used the information from this source on the literary interpretation and biography essays. This source offered very straight forward facts and information that I found to be quite helpful. â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 4 August. 1993. This source gave me information about Thomas Jefferson’s affair with slave-girl Sally Hemings. I used this information on my biography essay when I talked about the affair. This source had the most information about the affair. I found this source to be very useful. Jefferson, Thomas. â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The American Experience. New York City:Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. This source is what I did my literary interpretation on. I found it to be very easy to interpret and it also provided some information that I could’ve used in my persuasive essay. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson Family Cemetery. † Carol House Online. n. p. n. d. 17 February. 2007. This source is where I got the cemetery picture from. All I got from this source was the picture. It was a good source. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government. † Faculty Online. n. p. n. d. 7 May. 1996. This source is where I got the cover picture from. All I got from this source was the picture. It was a good source.

A Young Athlete Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Young Athlete - Research Paper Example r affection for games amid supplementary things had distinguished them from non-Greeks therefore, solitary Greek populace were permitted to contend in the games. (Camp 2004) In ornamentation, procedure of construction and appearance, Panathenaic amphorae had pursued conventional ethnicity for generations. The Vase in above picture is of 24  ½ in height and as of current situation it is conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of New York. (www.metmuseum.org n.d.) The Vase is carbon dated as of manufactured around 530 B.C. and belonged to the vast culture of Greeks. The painting style of the Amphora above matches with other works of the â€Å"Euphiletos Painter.† (Hyman 2006) The figures on one side of vase materialized as black shadows in opposition to the orange of the fired up clay, the details (fig 1.0) were carved into the beautification prior to firing the sculpture into the Kiln. (Hyman 2006) The rest of the Vase is adorned with slip that transformed into black color when exposed to heat in the kiln. The wholly established black-figure method, with additional crimson and white particulars and notching for sketches and particulars was invented in â€Å"Corinth† at some stage in the early 7th B.C. and lately launched into â€Å"Attica† almost post a gap of generation. (Camp 2004) Subsequently it thrived until the finish of the 6th BC. The â€Å"red-figure method† (Hyman 2006) which was conceived in 530 B.C. overturned this practice by way of the Vases being decorated black and the outlines painted with bright crimson colors, as in the case of above illustrated Vase. On front side of this vase, decorated by the â€Å"Euphiletos Painter† is Athena, â€Å"the Greek goddess of perception, combat, the arts, commerce, honesty and talent† (Gates 1972) equipped with a helmet and shield together with holding in the air a spear which is belligerently tramping to the fore. Beneath the arm of Athena, there is â€Å"the snake-fringed edge of her aegis, the goatskin with the

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

International Business - Essay Example There is a say, â€Å"You can always buy in your own language but you must sell in your customer’s language† (Institute of Linguist Great Britian, 1995, p.187). This is true when we consider the aspect of Localized marketing strategy. Localization strategy thus demands a great deal of geographic surveys and international brand management which involves a considerably larger proportion of money. The international strategy runs over elaborate business literature by which it completes the process of decision making and execution of the trade between countries. This strategy is rather scientific as it institutes decision making characters such as market speculation, international trade agreements and other cooperative arrangements. The main theme of this strategy is driven by predictions about the outcomes of the trade. However, in this process, a better chance is enhanced with various examinations and experiments done on the subject at different levels based on the political, topographical and socio-economic conditions of the trading country. Many of the international business giants are successful only because of the effectiveness of international strategy. Apparently the most sophisticated one, transactional strategy is more beneficial to trade as it maintains a high degree of integrity and consistency of international business data. Transactional strategy is largely adopted by firms and corporatists managing international banking, insurance and stock broking. This strategy requires the involvement of computerized mechanism rather than human elements. Since the transactional strategy is more transparent than the other two, it is needless to say that it has to be protected with the strongest transaction support system available for the trade. Competitive advantage of a firm demands it to perform beyond the expected levels in order to compete with the market in a given period of time. Due to insufficient supply of factors of

Analyze the main reasons why companies decide to internationalize Assignment

Analyze the main reasons why companies decide to internationalize their activities - Assignment Example With the rush to globalize corporations on the increase, it is of great importance that the reasons behind this internationalization be analyzed. In the work of Rugman (2003), it is evident that corporations internationalize their businesses so as to remain competitive and relevant in the market. This form of networking is evident in the case of Chabros International Group that internationalized its markets so as to stay relevant in the tough economic times of the time (Farah, 2010). Additionally firms internationalize so as to fit in the current global economy (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2007). Relationships between varying firms are considered as networks that require co-existence and relationship between the varying complexes. For instance, the manufacturing industries have to create close links with production, distribution as well as service provision. In this case, internationalization is inevitable if a firm has to remain in the market. Mathis, Rogmans & Albqami (2011) say that there are many risks in the market including the political risk. With the financial and political risks on the rise, notable the global crisis of 2007, and unrests in Middle East and North Africa respectively, Mathis, Rogmans & Albqami (2011) indicate that there was need to change the macroeconomic policies in UAE and Saudi Arabia to reduce the impacts of global crisis on the economy. In this instance, there is need for internalization of the management base of the investors in multinational companies so as to reduce the liability of foreign investors, and the need to incorporate local partners in their corporations. Cavusgil, Ghauri & Sinkovics (2009) argue that corporations face stiff competition in the domestic market. Internalization for their markets gives them a chance to devise policies that will keep them running in such touch economic conditions. Through setting market policies, corporations are able to react to unforeseen threats from their foreign competitors, and as a

Knowledge Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Knowledge Management - Assignment Example nology may come along with challenges such as handling information overload, verifying and locating online expects, efficient knowledge mining approaches, reliability and security issues, filtering knowledge, and managing conflicts whenever many experts are involved. Traditional expert systems were designed for standalone computers. The challenge in this sense is that, many shells do not support the interoperability and openness needed for deploying expert systems over an extensive network. In addition, the internet was originally visualized as a document sharing infrastructure ad any effort to use it for sharing or distributing expert systems must manage all he difficulties. A number of web-based expert tools are easily accessible, but no formal assessment and comparison of diverse ones has been carried out (Hayes-Roth 13). If I were a management consultant, I would recommend the domain-specific knowledge-based expert systems technology to my clients. This is for the reason that it is a valuable resource through which knowledge is gained after some time of experience with a given problem. Most importantly, the expertise is never lost in an organization, rather transferred to other employees through training. Neural network technology has been demonstrated as a useful tool for modeling compound non linear relationships that have hidden data, offering superior prediction powers than traditional statistical techniques can do. This technology can perform tasks that cannot be performed by a linear program. When one of the key elements of a neural network stops working, it can continue without any inconveniences due to its parallel nature. In fact it learns without necessarily being reprogrammed. Further, it can b implemented in an application without many complications because researchers do not need a superior mathematical background, rather a few experiments and expenses. Finally, it is possible to include new outputs and inputs to the database to obtain a new

International Nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Nutrition - Essay Example There are a number of factors that lead to either a high or low entry of international companies in a country. First, a heavy tax system that is highly regulated is one of these factors. While many people hold the belief that strict tax laws require a review to allow for foreign investors, others argue that they are adequate to cater for the needs of the citizens of the state as well as protect the local companies. The reality is, however, not true. Because of strict laws in many countries, many companies find it difficult to start up business in these countries. However, the market is open to allow competition to take place. Trading in a free and fair market, International Nutrition Company enjoys the laws of competition. Its products perform well in such regions due to their high quality. Although priced higher than some of the local commodities, the market still highly regards quality feeds from International Nutrition. The reduction in the level of market regulations and internat ional tariffs by countries is a result of globalization. This has also contributed to the decrease in the level of market control. As countries increase the level of doing business with one another, the result is open markets free to compete with one another. For healthy competition to take place, many governments allow their markets to operate freely, offering companies freedom of entry into and exit from the country. This allows both local and international investors to battle out in the market arena with the products or services being the top of their priorities. In most countries in the African continent, regulation takes place at one level, i.e., the national government. Africa provides a number of fast growing markets for any company to invest in, and especially agricultural companies such as International Nutrition. In Africa, emerging markets such as Sub-Saharan Africa offer a great opportunity for the company to exploit. Countries such as Zimbabwe, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya act as an investment destiny in Sub-Saharan Africa. In West Africa, countries such as Ghana and Nigeria are an example of the markets where the company has business and records increased growth. Nigeria relies mostly on its oil, while Ghana highly relies on agriculture. Increasingly though, the Nigerian government has encouraged

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s Essay

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s - Essay Example In 2009, China successfully challenged its position, taking over as the second largest producer. Currently, America stands third in mass production of automobiles [1]. At the onset of the American automobile industry, a large number of manufactures came on the scene, and vigorously vied for the domination of the local market. However, towards the end of the 1920s, only three major companies had managed to control the market. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler were the big players in the country. These companies continued to thrive strongly, even after the Great Depression and the advent of the World War 2. In the 1970s, a mishmash of rocketing oil costs, fervent competition from foreign brands, and tightening government laws greatly affected the companies negatively. From then on, the companies experienced widely fluctuating fortunes, but by 2008, the business was undergoing severe havoc. This resulted to the fall of General Motors and Chrysler, who had to file for bankruptcy. The Fo rd Company managed to stay afloat all through these trying periods, and is currently gaining momentum to regain its lost glory [2]. The Ford Company came into being from the original idea of its owner and founder, Henry Ford. Currently, the company stands second among the world’s biggest automobile producers. The multinational conglomerate is now currently worth about $167 billion dollars. Though the company specialized in automobiles, it now also runs Ford Credit, a venture that rakes in around $3 billion dollars annually. In addition, it also possesses The Hertz Corporation, which is the biggest car-rental company in the world. The corporation now produces a wide range of vehicle brands. These include Ford, Mercury,... This essay discusses the automobile industry, that is a huge part of the engineering sector and is involved in the devising, growth, production, and selling of vehicles. It is one of the major industries in the world in terms of economic worth and revenue. The definition of the industry, though broad, is limited to the production and sale of automobiles, and does not include after-sales services like repair and maintenance. The industry is laden with events and milestones that marked its start and evolution to what it is currently. Firstly, the researcher dicusses the onset of the American automobile industry and mentiones companies, such as Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, that were the big players in the United States in the 1920s. The researcher discusses the Great Depression that happened in the late 1920s and severely depleted General Motors’ financial strength. This was what that gave the Ford Company a much-needed lifeline. The General Motors’s market share al l but disappeared, thereby greatly depleting its income avenues. The market stake of the Ford Company shot up drastically. In conclusion, the researcher states that Ford company managed to survive through the trying times mainly due to the backing of its continuous perfect performance of its financial services sector. However, reclaiming its position as the world’s biggest automotive producer is not an easy task. The frequency of changing technology and fluctuation of markets will certainly be a problem for most companies.

The impact of feminism on sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The impact of feminism on sociology - Essay Example The moment the law of lift Is violated we see the immediate effects This is a philosophical position. It seeks equality as it relates to political, legal and economic matters (Blumberg, R. 2001,). There are many more aspects but the main thrust is to achieve equality with the male counterpart. Unemployment has been a factor of society over many years. In the past governments somewhat accepted this. In this way welfare recipients were simply entitled to benefits. Since the 1970s there has been a shift in this approach. People were no longer entitled to the benefits. The shift meant that one had to qualify for the benefits. Qualifying had to do with a market economy component. This meant the introduction of the welfare to work principle (Breitkreuz, R. 2005, June)... Those people on welfare were now structured units to enter the job market. This gave focus to the real societal issues. In most societies, those on welfare women out number the men. A further reality is that most these women are mothers. Feminist studies show that employability has at least two direct challenges. First there is the need to deal with the woman’s emotional need. This need is directly related to the family commitment. In many cases the woman is referred to as the lone mother. This lone mother may be making an income. The reality is that the income is informal. In addition the income is small. The lone mother is now trapped in to maintaining this income stream. This can be seen as a coping mechanism. The second issue is the need for education. In most cases there is a skill deficiency. In other words the lone mother has a work skill. The problem is that the work skill is not in demand by the regular business economy. The two issues must be addressed together. This realization helps the society in general. The fact can be seen if we look log term as opposed to the immediate issue at hand. Helping the lone mother in the welfare to work

Freud vs. Jung Essay Example for Free

Freud vs. Jung Essay Carl Jung met Freud in 1907 and the two men talked â€Å"virtually without a pause for thirteen hours† Each was captivated by the other’s genius and passionate interest in psychology, and they began a close correspondence in which they exchanged letters as often as three times a week. (Bridle, Edelstein 2010)Both men are famous psychoanalysts with unique approaches to personality. At one point they shared many of the same theories and had a deep friendship. However, Jung developed several new theories and disagreements with Freud. After years of friendship the pair parted in 1913. The three main areas of personality which Jung disagreed with Freud on was the role of sexuality, temporal forces that influence personality and the unconscious. My views are split with these two, I just believe that they had shared so much of the same beliefs but eventually they had to branch of in some way because that is how they get their recognition. Two powerful men in the field of psychology had to have a different view in order to fulfill their â€Å"ego. † The theories of Freud and Jung branched off from sexual to Jung’s analytical approach in a deeper meaning. Freud believed in Self awareness and Jung was more into self realization. In which Freud was more focused on the unconscious when Jung branched off into exploring more towards the conscious mind. Freud is known as the father of the unconscious and he developed psychotherapy along with the idea of the id, ego and superego. Jung accepted the idea of the unconscious but he elaborated it by labeling two levels: the personal and the collective unconscious. Jung also developed Analytical Psychology and the terms introvert and extrovert. Freud firmly rejected religion and Jung incorporated things like religion and art into his theory. Freud felt religion was an escape and a fallacy, which ought not to be propagated. His faith was fully in the minds ability to access its unconscious thoughts. Jung conversely believed that religion was an important place of safety for the individual as he or she began the process of individuation, exploring and accepting all parts of the self (wiseGeek, 2013). In 1914 Jung broke with Freud to develop his own school of psychology, which emphasized the interpretation of the psyche’s symbols from a universal mythological perspective rather than a personal biographical one. (Bridle, Edelstein, 2010) This is kind of where I broke up with Jung and his approach as well because I don’t really believe in the mythological perspective and I do think it is very complex and I believe it is just simpler then this. Although, some things I do agree with both Psychoanalysts and they did shape the way for others and also shaped the way for other approaches in the field. Like B. F. Skinner and Abraham Maslow. My favorite thing about Sigmund Freud is the Psychoanalysis. Which is Freud’s’ innovative treatment method in which the patient is encouraged to speak freely about memories, associations, fantasies and dreams and which relies on Freud’s theories of interpretation. (†¦Bridle, Edelstein, 2010)I love this because it is still used in the field of psychology and is actually relevant to my life because for my bipolar disorder and PTSD I use both medication and I talk to people using what is now called psychotherapy. It really does help in my case because talking to someone about my problems is just as helpful as the medication they give me to help me sleep and function in life. References wiseGEEK (2003-2013) www. wisegeek. com/what-are-the-primary-differences-between-freuds-and-jungs-theories-htm Was ist das Ich? Susan Bridle and Amy Edelstein 1991-2010, EnlightenNext magazine Http:www. enlightennext. org/magazine/j17/wasist. asp.

Impact Of Woolf Reforms On Civil Justice System Law Essay

Impact Of Woolf Reforms On Civil Justice System Law Essay The Woolf reforms have successfully increased access to justice for litigants despite being confronted with extensive variables and multifaceted difficulties. However, the reforms have failed in some major aspects, ultimately falling victim to the notoriety and reality of legal reform. The civil justice system and the Woolf reforms will firstly be discussed, moving into an analysis of the prominent areas of the Civil Procedure Rules, with the essay concluding with an overall analysis of the reforms, exposing the reasons for its failures, in reference to the reality of the civil justice system. The Civil Justice System and the Emergence of the Woolf Reforms and Access to Justice The civil justice system has the dual function of serving the public good and acting as a private means. Its social purpose is to provide the machinery for giving effect to the rights of citizens, whilst contributing to the social and economic well being of the community and regulating the exercise of executive power under the democratic principle of the rule of law. For these purposes to be fulfilled, there must be effective access to justice with an awareness of every citizen of their rights, entitlements, obligations and responsibilities, and of the procedures for redress. The underlying basis of the Woolf reforms is therefore to ensure that the justice system provides opportunities for the public to make good their rights. An unambiguous aspiration to overhaul the justice system culminated in 1994, when the then Master of the Rolls, Lord Woolf, was appointed by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, to assess the practices and procedures of the civil courts in England and Wales. There was a four year, all-embracing inquiry and extensive consultation process that made over three hundred recommendations designed to improve the limitations of civil litigation. There were two reports, published in June 1995 and July 1996, that revealed the findings of the wide-ranging inquiry and provided the foundation for the subsequent Civil Procedure Rules 1998. It is widely accepted that the perceived deficiencies of the civil justice system were met by proposals of radical change and the Woolf reforms were far more than a modification or clarification of the justice system. This investigation into the countrys legal system was required to maintain the integrity and political legitimacy of the system, preventing it from being brought into disrepute. The impact that the competency of a nations justice system can have on considerations such as the economy and political presence in international affairs was also recognised. This is especially the case when identifying London as a prominent dispute resolution centre in the world, attracting litigants from across the globe. The reputation of England and Wales was assessed and the pre-Woolf litigation landscape was in need of reform if this historic justice system was to maintain its standing as one of the most competent providers of justice. Findings of the Woolf Reforms The perceived deficiencies revealed by Woolfs inquiries were readily agreed by the users of the civil justice system. In essence, litigation in England and Wales was too slow, too expensive and too uncertain. These injustices were predominantly identified to be the result of the English adversarial tradition and allowing parties to assume the proactive and dominant case management role, leaving the judiciary to perform simply a reactive role. Too Slow The pre-Woolf landscape contained too much delay that crippled the efficiency of the system and provided a disincentive to those seeking to enforce their rights. This introduced an additional cause of stress, such as through making it more difficult to establish the facts and leading parties to settle for inadequate compensation.  [1]  Lord Woolf identified delay to be the direct result of the adversarial culture of litigation that lawyers practised within and thrived upon. The time taken to progress a case from an initial claim to final hearing was a matter of concern, especially in making litigation expensive. Too Expensive The ever-increasing cost of litigation was found to limit access to justice. However, for some academics, high costs do not automatically entail that low income citizens are prevented from participating in the justice process because of the existence of what Michael E. Stamp  [2]  has named the fiscal illusion, where a belief arises that legal services are becoming unaffordable because they have increased in relative price. Stamp argues that society must alter the proportion of income devoted to different goods and services and rely upon increasing the productivity of legal services to match the increasing costs rather than solely aiming to decrease costs whilst maintaining current levels of efficiency. The Woolf reforms took on the dual approach of aspiring to increase the output of the justice system and endeavouring to strip away unnecessary costs. Stamps comment is an understatement of how low income citizens are being priced out of litigation and fails to stress the importan ce of access to justice for every citizen, irrelevant of social or financial status. Despite the above debate, it is accepted that the cost of a claim is a barrier to some and a problem for all litigants  [3]  and in more direct opposition to Stamp, Sir Thomas Bingham  [4]  robustly describes costs to be a cancer eating at the heart of the administration of justice. The system was too expensive with patterns of costs being higher than the claim was worth. High costs act as a deterrent to those making and defending claims and a number of businesses say that it is often cheaper to pay up, irrespective of the merits, than to defend an action. For individual litigants the unaffordable cost of litigation constitutes a denial of justice.  [5]  The primary intention to provide justice for individuals and businesses was being undermined by the inefficient cost of the machinery. This begins to expose the cruel reality of accessing justice that will run throughout this assessment of the Woolf reforms. Too Uncertain Uncertainty for litigants was a simple but significant limitation of accessing justice arising from unpredictable costs, timings and timetabling, and the uncertainty of judicial decisions. Uncertainty constituted a strong deterrent for litigants and must not be minimised as an issue. The English Adversarial Tradition There was a definitive intention to shift the litigation culture from that of adversarialism to compromise, co-operation and settlement. Woolf described the adversarial system as likely to encourage an adversarial culture and to degenerate into an environment in which the litigation process is too often seen as a battlefield where no rules apply.  [6]  There was a determination of lawyers to manipulate court procedures, delay and disrupt the opposition counsel, increase the costs of the litigation for personal profit and impose professional protectionalism. Woolf identified that main procedural tools for conducting litigation efficiently have each become subverted from their proper purpose  [7]  and the powers of the court have fallen behind the more sophisticated and aggressive tactics of some litigators.  [8]  Lawyers were accused of abusing the disclosure of information, disputing unquestionable points, making tactical appeals and deploying tactics to drag out litigati on, thereby driving up costs. Any analysis of this tradition identifies that the burden of this abuse falls on the client. Woolf disclaimed any potential shift towards an inquisitorial system and abandoning adversarialism in its entirety, in order to maintain its benefits, such as its impartiality compared to inquisitorial techniques. The proposed reform of case management (as set out below), was therefore created to be compatible with the adversarial tradition, establishing conditions where it could survive the transfer of control from the parties to the judiciary. Conclusion on the Findings of the Woolf Reports The justice system was essentially failing the litigant, on and for whom the whole system should, in principle, focus and deliver. Fairness, speed of process, reasonable results and the availability of appropriate procedures were all found to be lacking within a system which promised all these goals. The impression of litigation is a fragmented, inefficient and incomprehensible system failing to fulfil its function and its potential, to promptly distribute affordable and certain justice. It is difficult to take issue with Lord Woolfs findings and the principles of reform that emerge from his conclusions. The reliability and diligence of the access to justice reports are uncontested and the research element of the reforms will continue to act as a valuable identification of the positives and, importantly, limitations of the civil justice system. In this facet of investigation and assessment, Woolf was undoubtedly successful. However, the means and choice of initiatives that Woolf proposed to remedy the exposed limitations are open to debate and critique, particularly when commonly identified as being radical and controversial in their nature and the direction in which they attempt to guide the justice system. Objectives of the Woolf Reforms The aims of the reforms can be condensed into one overriding objective, set out in Civil Procedure Rules 1.1, which was to increase the competency of the civil justice system to decide and deal justly the cases set before it. This includes such considerations as reducing excessive costs, ensuring cases are dealt with expeditiously, honestly and in a manner that is proportionate to their nature. This would create equal footing for parties, guaranteeing that there is a reasonable allotment of resources per case by the court. The vision of Woolf and the principles of his report were reinforced in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which came into force on 26th April 1999. The CPR established a common set of procedures and rules for both the county courts and High Court to follow and gave effect to the three hundred plus changes, amounting to the most radical change to procedure in the last one hundred years. The Woolf reforms did not tinker with the existing system; they rewrote it.  [9]  The CPR are extensive, but some elements are considered to be more prominent than others. It is these that I will focus on in my assessment of the CPR as the implementation of the Woolf reforms. The following six elements of the CPR were, and continue to be, considered to have had the most effect on the English civil procedure. Case Management Technique Lord Woolf believed case management to be vital in solving the key problems of cost, delay and complexity, identifying that the three are interrelated and stem from the uncontrolled nature of the litigation process. In particular, there is no clear judicial responsibility for managing individual cases or for the overall administration of the civil courts.  [10]  The transfer of control from the parties to the judge was designed to improve the pace and efficiency of litigation through imposing tighter timeframes and reducing case duration. Woolf recommended that in relation to case management, the complexity of rules should be eased through modernising terminology and eliminating the distinctions between procedure and practice. Woolf not only sought to change the legal culture of the parties and their counsel, but also the role of the judiciary within an organised court service. Case management was an interventionist approach, imposing a more dominant role for the courts whilst not dismissing the English adversarial tradition in its entirety. The judiciary were equipped with wide discretionary powers, for example, imposing early trial dates and refusing any plea to delay the start of a trial. The governing role of the judge is a common aspect of other continental legal systems and its introduction constituted a shift of the English legal system towards the majority.  [11]   Positives Case management has improved access to justice through increasing the speed of litigation. This initiative determined that it was the judges rather than the lawyers who dictate pace. No longer are the larger claims allowed to fester in the do not touch drawers of solicitors filing cabinets.  [12]  Lawyers were too often judged to slow down litigation, Woolf himself regarding that in the majority of cases the reasons for delay arise from failure (by the lawyers) to progress the case efficiently, wasting time on peripheral issues or procedural skirmishing to wear down an opponent or to excuse failure to get on with the case.  [13]  Many academics view the shift in management from the lawyers to the more responsible and non-partisan judiciary to be an effective reform. For example, 98% of respondents to the 2001 Woolf Network Third Survey considered that the newly introduced Case Management Conferences worked well in their case.  [14]  The increase of discretionary power and control has meant that time-wasting and tactical applications have not been tolerated, and breaches of judicial instruction in relation to the final hearing can result in claims being struck out. Limitations It is argued that a judge does not necessarily or automatically possess the skills or know-how to manage cases competently, reducing the predictability of a claim. The concern is that competency levels are suggested to decrease down the ranks of the judiciary whilst the levels of discretion are maintained. Case management has also been argued to constitute judicial over-involvement, where lawyers who have obtained a deeper knowledge of the case are prevented from deciding how the case should progress. This not only places the responsibility irrationally with the judge, who has only briefly assessed the claim, but also could be construed as reflecting a mistrust of the professionalism of counsel to the dispute. Case management is predicted to fail as a permanent solution because the institution of judicial case management represents a one-time productivity increase where the immediate effect may be lower costs of obtaining justice, but, over the long run, the cost savings will evaporate as a direct result of the cost disease.  [15]  This educated prediction of unavoidable failure of case management, and the Woolf reforms and CPR as a whole, must be treated with care, because it is in essence a prediction. However, this calculated forecast of the reform process suggests a negative outcome of case management that cannot be ignored. The necessary technological advances within the system have also been insufficient to support the implementation of case management. The increased judicial use of computers and telephone conferences, the acceptability of email correspondence in many courts and the advantage of claims beginning online, have all been beneficial, but this is the limit of any technological input. This is not due to the lack of technology available, but rather the justice system barely tapping into the phenomenal potential of technology. It is characteristically a lack of resources and allocated funds that have limited the use of technology, thereby failing to adequately complement the reforms. Conclusion It is apparent that there should not be an outright restoration of the responsibility to manage cases back to the parties and their lawyers. The wholesale rejection of judicial case management does not emanate from a fair evaluation of an initiative that has speeded up litigation and, as a direct result, decreased costs. There must be a reassessment of this reform, with the aim of improving the ability of the judiciary to effectively administer and control cases, essentially through a development of training judges in management techniques. In combination with this training, it is vital that there is an increase in the availability of technological support. This initiative seems to be a clear example of the dangers of such an interventionist approach. Pre-Action Protocols Pre-action protocols constitute strict procedures and sensible codes of practice which are dependent upon the facts and nature of a case, which parties when confronted with the prospect of litigation are expected to follow. The original two protocols in the CPR, for example, concerned personal injury and clinical negligence respectively. The aim overall was to encourage the early settlement of claims and avoid litigation, such as through an early exchange of full information of the dispute. The protocols follow a similar pattern as the encouragement to participate in alternative dispute resolution, in that compliance with the protocols is not compulsory, but an unreasonable refusal to participate will affect the awarding of costs. Positives The success of the pre-action protocols is clear from their expansion from the original two to the current ten, in March 2010. The protocols have increased the structure and organisation of claims, creating certainty for litigants of the pre-trial steps that they are expected to take, such as the effort to settle. This sequentially has stimulated increased levels of dispute resolution and early settlement through the improvement of the pre-action investigation, earlier exchange of information and the enhancement of the relationship and understanding between parties through more pre-action contact. The protocols have also been credited with ensuring that disputes which are litigated are done so on the foundation of detailed preparation and consideration. Further positives include the decrease of nuisance ill-founded claims and the success of the attached code, which categorises disputes which do not fall within the protocols. Limitations The protocols have been criticised solely for their burden and lengthy requirements. The obligation to perform tasks such as writing letters, disclosing information and exchanging expert reports all combine to duplicate the process of the claim to follow. A dispute is essentially fought twice, unnecessarily increasing time and costs. Conclusion The protocols were a strong success only falling foul in the adverse effect of the burden of administration. They represent the strength of the reforms and suggest that radical reform can be effective if implemented correctly. The Track System Under case management, a track system was proposed to assign different procedures to different cases that are separated on the merits of complexity and financial value. The CPR classifies cases into one of the three tracks of small claims, fast track and multi-track.  [16]  The small claims track is for cases of less than  £5,000 in value and the fast track including claims that are more valuable than  £5,000, but fall below  £15,000, or that fail to fit within the small claims criteria. Fast track cases are deemed to be simpler disputes, and on a slight variation, include landlord-tenant disputes and personal injury cases that are valued between  £1,000 and  £5,000. The multi-track includes all the cases over  £15,000 that fail to be placed in the fast track and small claims. Positives The fast track arrangements have been successful in having cases heard quicker, with it being claimed that this guarantees a final hearing within 30 weeks from soon after the defence has been sent to court.  [17]  The track system overall is merited for recognising that cases of different size and complexity should be dealt with in different ways with it having been noted that the criticism that such distinctions will condemn many claimants of small sums to second class justice is wholly misconceived.  [18]  This initiative has increased certainty of timetabling and improves efficiency by ensuring that judicial time is spent proportionately to the issues in claims. Limitations The track system is highly controversial because of its technique of the early classification and has struggled to contend with the extensive variables that determine the costs awarded to a party.  [19]  The most influential variable that has hindered success is the unpredictability of the length of a dispute.  [20]  In some cases it is close to impossible to balance and account for variables, such as complexity and financial value, in the early stages of a case. The track system must also contend with all the disadvantages of going to court, regardless of which track, including the common problems of cost and time. Conclusion The immediate defence of the track system that the analysis and clarification of costs is an ambitious and difficult task is not sufficient to excuse its failure. The system has fallen victim to the overload of variables and has failed to present itself as a competent antidote and controller of excessive costs. This initiative is a disappointment and current calls for its removal are justified. The concerns of the track system once again support the use of Alternate Dispute Resolution processes to reach a settlement, rather than proceed to trial. Costs Most of the descriptive guidelines of the overriding objective set out in the CPR concern the costs of litigation. High costs are often magnified by the issue of delay which acts as drag or friction upon the economy by reducing the ability of individuals and corporations to increase productivity and fully utilise capital.  [21]  At a minimum, costs must be more predictable and affordable, despite the difficulties of quantifying and identifying the sources of abstract costs not directly related to the litigation process. The objective must be reducing delay that creates excessive costs and constructing an initiative to reduce any influx in costs if a claim is inhibited by delay. The general rule of costs that the losing party must pay those of the successful party still remains. However, CPR 44.3 has modified this long-standing rule by introducing exceptions to it and giving the court discretion in the allocation of costs in certain cases. The rules of paying costs also can require the losing party to pay on account before the final sum of costs is decided by the court. This scheme, coupled with the ability to order costs or a proportion of costs which have been summarily assessed to be paid within fourteen days has established in todays litigation system a concept of what one learned commentator has described as pay as you go system for costs.  [22]  The early and continuous payment of costs promotes early settlement as the parties assess their cases earlier and can make calculations as to whether their costs will exceed their revenue. This scheme communicates the reality of a claim directly to the parties, encouraging them to rationally manage their fi nances and clarify and target their personal goals within the claim. Parties also have an incentive to adopt a more co-operative approach because of the threat of court imposed financial penalties for unreasonable conduct. This is an example of the court utilising a more forceful, realistic and arguably manipulative technique in the practical application of a reform through costs. Positives Michael Bacon identified that several long established principles relating to legal costs have either been modified or disappeared completely as a result of the Woolf reforms, and one or two totally new concepts and procedures have been introduced.  [23]  This dramatic reform has increased the predictability and certainty of costs and balanced unequal financial means between litigants through orders for the party with greater financial resources, but with the weaker case, to pay interim costs. There has also been increased enforcement of procedural rules, and action taken in respect of unreasonable conduct, by the court through automatic costs sanctions. Limitations The new costs regime has been criticised predominantly for failing to sufficiently reduce and control costs. Costs have been front loaded and perceived decreases in costs have been shown to be cancelled out by adverse effects of other reforms. In addition, cost sanctions have been criticised for being oppressive and punitive instead of preventing non-compliance with court convention. Conclusion Costs have not been successfully reduced and only minor reductions can be identified. The reasoning that costs are difficult to control because of their dependence upon a high number of variables, and the reality that there cannot be a sole recommendation targeting the financial burdens of litigation, are not justification for the failure of a multifaceted scheme designed to reduce costs. The only positive is that the emphasis on costs has raised the profile and importance of costs overall. This awareness has instigated a new outlook on reducing costs that may develop into a culture. The costs scheme constitutes the major criticism of the reforms overall. Alternative Dispute Resolution Reform of the justice system was required to promote more cases to an earlier, controlled settlement as opposed to an untidy, pressured one at the door of the court. The encouragement for early settlement follows Woolfs vision of litigation as the last resort for disputing parties, with the view that any settlement is better than proceeding to trial. This has allowed alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to take a fundamental role, and information on the sources of ADR is provided at all civil courts and legal aid funding is made available for ADR processes. ADR is the umbrella term for a group of techniques used to solve disputes other than through the traditional court adjudication. However, proceedings should not be issued or commenced if settlement is still being explored. The competency of the Centre for Dispute Resolution (CEDR) which nominates mediators, liaises with both parties and prepares the mediation agreement, also became relevant. In theory, ADR prevents the limitations of the court process from proceeding to fruition. If a claim is settled in mediation, the costs, complexity, adversarialism, time and ineffectiveness of the court procedure are all circumvented. The reduction of cases progressing to trial also reduces the burden on the courts, allows for a more efficient and better resourced procedure and, ultimately, better access to justice. The court was therefore equipped with the power to direct parties to attempt ADR under CPR 26.4 and to order a months postponement, facilitating parties to secure a settlement. In combination with ADR processes, offers to settle, known as Part 36 offers, provide yet another stimulus to settle before court action. Part 36 offers departed from the traditional structure of settlement, allowing both the claimant and defendant to make an offer to settle before the issuing of the claim or during the actual proceedings. If an offer has been made then this will be taken into consideration by the court when awarding costs. Positives There has been a clear cultural change and increased numbers of settlements through the vigorous promotion of ADR. There now exists a regime that encourages and obliges parties and their lawyers to consider settlement and utilise ADR processes. The largely aggressive adversarial behaviour associated with disputes has been softened with a more co-operative and collaborative approach. This culture immediately decreased the number of claims reaching court, with a 19.6% fall in the number of proceedings issued from 2000 to 2001 in the Queens Bench Division.  [24]  ADR has offered willing litigants the opportunity to participate in a quicker, cheaper and more specific and flexible technique for resolving their dispute. ADR also has many personal advantages for the participants as it can be creative, reduce stress and repair relationships. Limitations The essential limitation of ADR is its reliance upon the original participation in mediation. A settlement then relies upon the facts of a case and the parties approach to ADR. Many parties take a half-hearted approach to mediation and have no real intention to negotiate for a settlement. They intend instead to avoid the financial implications of unreasonably refusing to mediate. It is argued that as a result of both failed settlement attempts and indifferent participation in mediation, ADR does not necessarily reduce costs. Mandatory mediation is argued to constitute the greatest failure of ADR. Professor Dame Hazel Genn,  [25]  through the voluntary pilot mediation scheme of the Central London County Court (CLCC), identified that the Woolf reforms have motivated parties to mediate in order to avoid financial penalties for unreasonable refusal and create the appearance of following judicial direction. There was also the 2004 Automatic Referral to Mediation Scheme (ARMS) run at CLCC, where one hundred cases a month were selected at random and sent to mediation before any court hearing. Parties unwilling to partici

Engle v. US :: essays research papers

SUMMARY Engle v. Vitale was the first case brought to the Supreme Court that used the establishment clause to remove religious activities that until this point had been used as a part of public observances. The First Amendment bars any enforcement of any law â€Å"respecting an establishment of religion† and the Fourteenth Amendment makes this applicable to the States. For that reason, state officials can not write an official state prayer and require that it be recited in the public schools, even if the prayer is nondenominational and students who wish to remain silent or be excused are allowed to do so during the recitation of the prayer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The parents of ten students brought this issue to the New York State Court maintaining that the use of the official prayer in the public schools was â€Å"contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children.† The question that was reviewed by the Supreme Court of The United States was whether New York overstepped the boundaries when they financed a religious exercise. The New York Court said that â€Å"the prayer given does not conform to all of the tenets of the Jewish, Unitarian, and Ethical Culture groups. The Supreme Court ruled that, though the prayer was nondenominational and students had the option of whether or not to recite the prayer and not be penalized for failure to do so, the state of New York and the school board had violated the Constitution of the United States and the rights of the students attending the public schools. Though many Americans still disagree with the verdict of the court, the rul ing still stands today. OPINIONS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opinion of the Court was delivered by Justice Black. The Court said: â€Å"Shortly after the practice of reciting the Regents’ prayer was adopted by the School District, the parents of ten pupils brought this action in a New York State Court insisting that use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children. The New York Court of Appeals, over the dissents of Judges Dye and Fuld, sustained an order of the lower state courts which had upheld the power of New York to use the Regents’ prayer as a part of the daily procedures of its public schools so long as the schools did not compel any pupil to join in the prayer over his or his parents’ objection.

Drinking Age Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Drinking Age The consumption of alcoholic beverages is a privilege not a right. The legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one, and I believe that this is a fair age. There are so many statistics that show drinking to be bad to begin with, but there are many more statistics that show why the drinking age of twenty-one should not be lowered. Teenagers do not show enough responsibility when drinking, and it would do everyone a lot more harm if they could do it legally. There is no argument that drinking and driving is bad because so many people are put at risk when someone does drive drunk. Teenagers drink, which is against the law to begin with, but also drive while they are intoxicated. This is bad because teenagers are still growing and are at the age of rebellion, so alcohol has a different effect on teenagers than adults. Teenagers feel that they are grown up enough to make adult decisions, but drinking and then driving is a sure sign of immaturity. In many studies researchers have found that the number one cause of death among young adults are car crashes and out of all of those, nearly half are alcohol related. Long-term loss of drivers license and large fines and possible jail time, are consequences of driving drunk for persons twenty-one years and younger. There is zero tolerance in all fifty states and D.C. for underage drinking and driving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The drinking age is also good where it is, because scientists have proof that teenage brains are not...

Psychology of Prediction Essay

Over the decades, there has been much controversy on the effectiveness of clinical predictions which are mostly based on experts’ intuition. Researches from the past decades have proven that statistical methods are more accurate than clinical predictions and other researches examined heuristic principles used in predicting and judging outcomes during times when there is uncertainty or insufficient information. Although relying upon these heuristics simplifies judgment to a certain degree, this may lead to severe errors. Basically, there are three heuristic principles proposed by Kahneman and Tversky (1974). The first is called the availability heuristic, wherein predictions are made based on the information available. The second is anchoring, wherein predictions are based on a series of numerical estimates or â€Å"anchors†. The third one is called the representativeness heuristic, wherein predictions are made based on the subsistence of apparently similar cases. This paper studies one of these heuristic principles namely, representativeness heuristic, to show how this heuristic can lead to bias on clinical predictions and hence, show that such heuristics are, indeed, less accurate than predictions based upon statistical methods. First, the author feels compelled to give a little background on a few studies over the on-going clinical-statistical controversy. In 1996, Grove and Meehl proved that statistical method â€Å"is almost invariably equal to or superior to clinical method† (p. 293) in terms of accuracy in prediction. They analyzed secondary data coming from 136 published English researches since the 1920s which dealt with the prediction of health-related phenomena or human behaviour. These researches should also contain at least one of each prediction — that is, at least one clinical prediction or one based on human judgment and at least one mechanical or statistical prediction. As have mentioned earlier, all of the researches they included in their studied proved that statistical method is indeed almost always equal to or superior to clinical method because statistical prediction obtained from organized data are almost always free from bias. These data are observed from actual experiences and are recorded with precise instruments instead of relying on unaided memory. Moreover, statistical inferences are more objective than the human mind which can be bias at times or which can neglect certain important attributes that are necessary before even concluding on the result and thus, sometimes resulting to severe errors in predictions. Hence, predictions obtained from these statistical methods produce unbiased results in contrast with predictions made from human judgment. There are many reasons and examples that can show the superiority of statistical method over clinical method. In this paper, one type of heuristic is presented based on the observations of Kahneman and Tversky in their paper On the Psychology of Prediction (1973). Their paper is chosen due to the fact that it presents how people, specifically clinicians, judge certain events based on similar events that happened in the past. In the end, this paper shows how such a heuristic (representativeness) can lead to certain and possibly severe errors in judgment as compared to the event of using statistical method. Data analysis, discussion and conclusion are all based upon the findings of Kahneman and Tversky (1973) and Grove and Meehl (1996). In 1973, Kahneman and Tversky discussed two classes of prediction, the categorical prediction, in which predictions are presented nominally and numerical prediction, in which predictions are presented in numerically. They first examined category predictions by dividing 248 participants into three groups — 69 participants for the base-rate ¬ group, 65 participants for the similarity group and 114 participants for the prediction group. The base-rate group was asked to guess the percentage of first-year graduate students in the US who are enrolled as of the time the study was in progress in each of the nine fields of specialization namely, Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Library Science, Medicine, Physical and Life Sciences, and Social Science and Social Work. The similarity group was given a personality sketch (see Kahneman and Tversky, p. 38) and asked to rank the nine areas in terms of â€Å"how similar is Tom W. to the typical graduate student in each of the following nine fields of graduate specialization? †. The prediction group, which consists of graduate students in psychology at three major universities in the United States was also given the same personality sketch as that given to the similarity group with some additional information (see Kahneman and Tversky, p. 239) and was asked to predict Tom W’s choice of specialization. Kahneman and Tversky compared the results of these three groups by presenting a table (see Kahneman and Tversky, p. 238) and computing the product-moment correlations between the columns of the table. In so doing, they confirmed their hypothesis that most people predict certain events based on representativeness. Kahneman and Tversky explained that this happens because all the participants ignored certain important features before drawing their conclusions. In this way, they violate the normative rules of information. The participants, basically, ignored the three types of information relevant in any statistical analysis namely, prior or background information (presented to the participants using base rates of fields of graduate specialization, specific evidence concerning the individual case (presented to the participants using the personality sketch of Tom W. ) and the expected accuracy of prediction. The statistically correct method of predicting Tom W’s choice of specialization would be to compare the relative weights assigned to specific evidence and prior information with that of expected accuracy. As Kahneman and Tversky explains â€Å"when expected accuracy decreases, predictions should become more regressive, that is, closer to the expectations based on prior information† (p. 239). However, the participants in their study predicted without even considering the prior probabilities assigned to the specific evidence as described in Tom W’s personality sketch. Kahneman and Tversky (1973) also examined in their paper how numerical predictions can also lead to bias judgments or severe errors. In a study designed analogously with their study on categorical predictions, they showed that people also tend to predict by representativeness. That is, most predict an outcome using a score that is most representative of the description they were provided. Kahneman and Tversky’s showed us that whether people were given nominal or numerical data, they tend to predict outcomes by representativeness. Most may think that predicting by representativeness is more efficient than statistical methods since one should only consider similar or representative events while statistical methods require rigorous (as most think) tasks such as observing and gathering data and computing for too many measures such as mean, standard deviation and the like. However, this can become less accurate since they fail to consider some important parts in their analysis before drawing conclusions whereas statistical methods consider all of the important parts required before completely analyzing a data. Such statistical and mechanical methods reduce bias since these methods rely on precise measuring instruments than heuristic methods which rely almost entirely to memory or past knowledge which are most of the time insufficient or cannot wholly represent a certain event. Moreover, results derived from heuristic methods such as representativeness can vary depending upon the perception of different people. Results from statistical method, on the other hand, vary only because of variation between groups or within-groups. But even if data is given to five hundred different people, as long as the data is still the same, it will still yield the same result.