Drug Epidemic In United States - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 1031 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/10/30 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: War On Drugs Essay Did you like this example? In the history of the United Stated the drug epidemic has been increasing at an alarming rate. The United States imported opium legally for hundreds of years. During the Civil War the most common used drug was Morphine. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Drug Epidemic In United States" essay for you Create order In the nineteenth century Heroin was manufactured. Cocaine was very popular and was marketed as a cure for drug addiction. The United States main focus was on alcohol addiction, while there was very little concern for narcotic usage. In the early years, people could purchase drugs without a prescription from drugstores or grocery stores. Mail orders allowed for a widespread of narcotic distributions. The United States created different laws that were directed to narcotics. The Harrison Narcotic Act, Volstead Act, The Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act, The Narcotic Farm Act, The Marihuana Act, The Opium Poppy Control Act, The Boggs Act, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act, Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, Controlled Substance Act, and Drug abuse Office and Treatment Act were all laws created to combat and control narcotics and focused on treatment for drug users. The Harrison Narcotic Act On December 17, 1914 The Harrison Narcotic Act became a law and was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. This was a tax law that was left for the Treasury Department to enforce. It was up to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Internal Revenue were the first two agencies in charge of smuggling at the United States Border. Most of the items which were smuggled included: oleomargarine, flour, cheese, cotton, playing cars, and narcotics. This act created the first federal narcotic agent on March 1, 1915. There quickly became 162 agents within this specialized unit. This specialized unit designed their own uniforms and badges. Some uniforms and badges looked like the wild west while others designed off the current military uniform. (XXX) In the early stages of the unit, the unit began to arrest physicians and those who were supplying narcotics to addicts. World War I (WWI)was approaching and opium was the new big thing. With the WWI new products, Morphine and Heroin, were used by many soldiers. These drugs were used to aid in pain relief and allowed the men fighting to stay awake for days without sleep. (XXX) The Volstead Act In October 1919 the Volstead Act was passed by President Woodrow Wilsons veto, which meant the legislation set forth by the 18th Amendment would be enforced. The 18th Amendment states, Section 1: After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, ot the exportation thereof from the United states and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2: The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. (XXX) There were still more debates about alcohol which meant there was little talk about narcotics. The only conversations in relation to narcotics was the thought of usage being a vice or an illness. After the passing of the Volstead Act there was more of a push to pursue liquor violations. This left the Bureau of Revenue no choice but to create a specific unit to combat liquor violations. The Prohibition Unit was created to find those violating the 18th Amendment. During the roaring twenties, the Prohibition Unit was called the Dry Agents. The Dry Agents was mostly made up from ranks of disenchanted war veterans who part of the political patronage. From the beginning they were faced with the task set by the 18th Amendment, which they received no thanks for doing. While the Prohibition Unit was enforcing the law, a 170-man Narcotic Division was created by a former Pharmacist. This Narcotic unit was great at what they with their convictions. In 1921 this division had 1,583 convictions, with 119 acquittals. The Narcotic Division seized 1,417 pounds of Opium, 373 pounds of morphine, 32 pounds of heroin, and 286 pounds of cocaine. Though there were great results in locating the narco tics trade they was still a problem. They were unsure on what to do with addicts. (XXX) The Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act By May 1922 The Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act was passed by Congress. The Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act is also known as the Jones-Miller Act, which was the start of the monitoring of international commerce of opiates. The Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act created the Federal Narcotics Control Board which was made up of Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce who all monitored opiate imports for uses other than medical. They also were to limit the exports to nations with adequate licensing systems, and to outlaw the manufacture of heroin. On February 19, 1925 the Second Geneva Convention was signed, but it was three years later that it adopted an international licensing system, record keeping, export regulations, statistical reporting, and a supervision department who was maned by a Permanent Central Board designed by the League of Nations. The Narcotic Farm Act of 1929 The Marihuana Act of 1937 The Opium Poppy Control Act of 1942 The Boggs Act 1951 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 1965 Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act 1966 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act October 27, 1970 Controlled Substance Act 1970 President Richard Nixon realized the number of drug users were increasing rapidly. President Nixon needed to find a solution to combat drug sales and usage. President Nixon realized there needed to be increased penalties, stronger enforcement, and incarceration for drug offenders. Some considerations were made classify each drug offender. President Richard Nixon declared a ?War on Drug in June 1971. President Nixon declared drug offenders to be public enemy number one. Nixon also granted an increase in funding for drug-control agencies and drug-treatment efforts. There were several different agencies which were created to combat the war on drugs. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was created in 1973. The DEA is a federal law enforcement agency who specializes in drug manufacturing, drug trafficking, and drug growing. The DEAs main mission has been to enforce the controlled substance laws and regulations of the United States. The DEA also wants to bring the people who violate these co ntrolled substance laws to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States.

Historiography Essay on Slavery - 1672 Words

Historiography Essay on Slavery Frederick Douglass was born a slave on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As a boy, Douglass learned to read and write while working as a house servant in Baltimore. In 1838, he made his way to freedom and went to New York City, where he soon married a free black woman named Anna Murray. After escaping from slavery, Frederick Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement, garnering praise for his incredible skills as an orator. His great speaking skills led him to write several autobiographies, his first one being Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. After returning from a successful speaking tour in Europe, Douglass worked on his antislavery newspaper, The North Star. During the Civil War,†¦show more content†¦Happy slaves did not have much of a reason to rebel for independence, so Phillips argued that most slave resistances were not so much a cry for freedom, but a form of labor negotiation between the slave and the sla ve owner. According to Phillips, â€Å"acquiescence was easier than correction,† (Phillips, 306). If slaves complained that their tasks were â€Å"too heavy,† then the easiest solution was to â€Å"reduce the schedule† (Phillips, 306). Phillips’s implication suggest slaves to be naturally docile and willing to work under most conditions, where in actuality most slaves lived unhappily and slave owners did not care about the slave’s working conditions. Douglass’s fight against Mr. Covey supports Stampp’s argument in â€Å"A Troublesome Property,† that slaves were treated harshly and any act of opposition from slaves was a sign of rebellion and the desire for freedom. Stampp’s depiction of the tension between a slave and a slave owner matches Douglass’s description of Mr. Covey and himself. Stampp agrees with a white man who says that the desire for freedom â€Å"exists in the bosom of every slave† (Stam pp, 260). Stampp says that rebellion, no matter how subtle, is not lesser than the daring â€Å"thrusts of liberty† (Stampp, 261). Constant resistance to their master’s authority makes them â€Å"troublesome property† (Stampp, 261) in the eyes of their owners. According to Stampp, attempts to overwork or punish a slave by aShow MoreRelatedSouthern Secession and the Causes for the Civil War1025 Words   |  4 Pagesthe â€Å"South† really were. The different sections of the South had varying degrees of investment into the institution of slavery and by extension varying degrees of interest in secession. Even within the Deep South States, there were those who wanted to avoid secession and maintain the Union. Road to Disunion shows the actions and events surrounding a handful of influential pro-slavery and pro-secession people who helped shape the events leading to the Civil War. Secessionists Triumphant 1854-1861 isRead MoreRobert E. Lee s Life1237 Words   |  5 Pagesnearly saint-like, nearly clairvoyant with his defensive actions. Modern historiographies of Lee vary from the earlier works written as they seem to look more into the man, rather than the legend. Earlier biographies of Lee interpret him to have been born in near perfection, a noble and honorable man, as well as a brilliant soldier. His childhood is either not mentioned or described as carefree and happy; his opposition to slavery is described as whole-hearted and intense; and his marriage to Mary CustisRead MoreMirrored Worlds1566 Words   |  7 Pagesmother as she is unable to make enough money to take care of herself, her lover, and her child. Frado is then left at the house of the Bellmonts who are a white northern family. Also worth mentioning is that this story takes place during a time when slavery was not practiced in the North. The most prominent similarity is that both of these works can be read as captivity narratives. Mary Rowlandson’s narrative is recognized as one of the earliest and most famous captivity narratives and it is easyRead MoreThe Battle Of The Civil War1627 Words   |  7 PagesThere is a long-standing debate over the causes of the Civil War in which one popular view is that it was a war waged to end slavery, while the other view, usually more sympathetic to the South, is that the contention was over states rights (in the interest of self-determination instead of subservience to the federal government). This is an interesting disagreement, because it implies a disagreement regarding which of the two sides was actually fighting for freedom. Despite the implicit oppositionRead More The Importance of History Essay992 Words   |  4 Pagescenturies between the writers, readers, and the makers of history. It is a vital topic which should be relevant in our lives because it?s impor tant to acknowledge past events that have occurred in our world that deeply influences the present. This essay will discuss what history is, and why we study it. History is the study of past events leading up to the present day. It is a research, a narrative, or an account of past events and developments that are commonly related to a person, an institutionRead MoreAnalysis Of William Du Bois s The Soul Of The Black Folk Essay1960 Words   |  8 PagesHistoriography has changed immensely since the beginning of the historian profession. Times of conflict can result in the approaches of historiography changing in a short period. By the end of the nineteenth century, he writing of American history had changed from consensus to progressivism. This opened up a new form of writing and opportunities to include different approaches or fields, such as science, economics, political science, and sociology, to help the understanding of the topic. In 1903Read MoreCivil Rights Activist. B. Du Bois1789 Words   |  8 PagesCivil War which is known as Reconstruction. The era itself is well known for its lack of objectivity in the ways it has been viewed b y white historians prior to the publication of this book in 1935. Du Bois book, Black Reconstruction in America: An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860–1880 attempts to revise the writings of pervious historians, who were devoted to their own sectional causes, partisan viewpoints and racistRead MoreRobert E. Lee s Life3560 Words   |  15 Pagesnearly saint-like, nearly clairvoyant with his defensive actions. Modern historiographies of Lee vary from the earlier works written as they seem to look more into the man, rather than the legend. Earlier biographies of Lee interpret him to have been born in near perfection, a noble and honorable man, as well as a brilliant soldier. His childhood is either not mentioned or described as carefree and happy; his opposition to slavery is described as whole-hearted and intense; and his marriage to Mary CustisRead More`` Blue Moon Of Kentucky ``1792 Words   |   8 Pageshistorians and new ideas produce intensely researched studies frequently published. â€Å"A Forgotten Shade of Blue: Measuring Whig Tradition, Republican Support, and Constitutional Unionism in Southeast Kentucky, 1840-1876† will add to that large historiography with the examination of a long ignored and unusual regional loyalty within a border state. Appalachian residents, and how they responded to the Civil War, is a topic of growing historical interest among academic historians. Studies that examineRead More Outside the Teaching Machine by Gayatri Spivak2753 Words   |  11 Pagesthe discipline now† (56). [Spivak 1993, p. 56). ----- 1993, Outside the Teaching Machine, Routledge, New York]. In her much quoted and much maligned essay â€Å"Can Subaltern Speak?† Spivak also questioned the very possibility of speaking from the margin without the mediation of metropolitan elitist discourse. Although Spivak’s assertion in the essay has generated productive debate in the context of the work of Indian subaltern studies in particular and postcolonial studies in general, she also raises

Gang Violence The Story Of Jumoke Johnson - 2010 Words

Gang Violence: The Story of Jumoke Johnson, Jr. The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals. The Social Problem For three generations the Johnson family has been involved in drug dealings, shootouts, and gangs (Burger, 2012). Jumoke Johnson was slated to break the streak as he reached his senior year of high school. The Chattanooga Times Free Press writer, Beth Burger (2012) followed the teen to document his life in high school. The†¦show more content†¦The police thought his influential personality is what raised him in the ranks of the Rollin’ 60 Crips gang of Chattanooga. When he graduated in 2012 a private investor paid for him to be sent to Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama (Wiseman, 2015). He was kicked out after one semester and came right back to Chattanooga where he got involved in a cocaine conspiracy that landed him in federal prison (Wiseman, 2015). Wiseman (2015) writes he was sentenced to sixty-five months with four years supervised release, and ordered to complete 500 hours of alcohol and drug treatment. In 2017, Jumoke Johnson escaped from a federal hal fway house on McCallie Avenue and disabled his GPS monitor (Bradbury). Less than a week later, he was shot and killed in a gang related incident on January 20, 2017. Systems Perspective In society, there are groups that interact with each other. They may be families, churches, government agencies, or anything in between. Those groups can be defined as systems, and in the systems perspective that is what they are referred to (Hutchison, 2017). In the 1960s, Ludwig von Bertalanffy developed the general systems theory in relation to biology, but it was widely publicized and used for various subjects (Hutchison, 2017). Hutchison (2017) summarized Bertalanffy’s theory by saying, â€Å"any element is best understood by considering its interactions with its constituent parts as well as its interactions with larger systems of which it is a part.† (p.

Are Earthquakes Becoming More Frequent GCSE Case study Free Essays

During this case study, I will be investigating a question: are earthquakes are becoming more frequent? Throughout this investigation, I will be explaining how earthquakes are detected, how they are caused, presenting an argument for and against this debate etc. At the end of my case study, I will formulate an opinion based on the evidence that I have gathered. I will also be questioning the reliability of my sources of information. We will write a custom essay sample on Are Earthquakes Becoming More Frequent: GCSE Case study or any similar topic only for you Order Now If you want to analyse the sources yourself, the links to the websites will be available on the bibliography page. I will also acquire statistics to further support the argument being made by both sides. Diagrams will give visual aid to help understand this controversial issue. (Picture of earthquake damaged buildings) What are earthquakes? Firstly, Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don’t just slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that’s built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus (on top of the ground) is called the epicenter of the earthquake. (picture showing epicentre of earthquake) Earthquakes can cause a lot of damage. Earthquakes have the power to uproot trees and send them crashing into buildings. They can trigger landslides and avalanches, and cause flooding and tsunamis. Human structures are also at risk. It is interesting to note that tall buildings will sustain the least damage if they are located directly at the epicenter. This is because they can withstand the up-and-down motion of P-waves. S-waves, on the other hand, occur far away from the epicenter, and cause the greatest stress by shaking buildings from side to side. These buildings are often knocked off their foundations. (Diagram of P and s-waves) How to cite Are Earthquakes Becoming More Frequent: GCSE Case study, Free Case study samples

Makeovers R Us Risk Management Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Makeovers R Us Risk Management. Answer: Risk Management Planning Outline The risk management process will comprise of five major steps which are listed and described below. Risk Identification: The risks will be identified by determining the project factors involved and on the basis of the information collected through processes, such as interviews, brainstorming, observation, and documentation. The risks are will be listed on the basis of their risk category and type. Risk Analysis: The risk analysis step will be carried out on the basis of the identified risks. The risks will be listed and the likelihood, impact, and score will be assigned to every risk in the list. Risk Evaluation Prioritization: The risks will be evaluated on the basis of the risk score and will also be classified as acceptable and non-acceptable. The priority will be assigned to every risk. Risk Treatment Response: The risks that will be classified as non-acceptable will be assigned with a treatment and response strategy and the same will be applied to treat the risk. Risk Monitoring Control: The application of the treatment strategy will be monitored using the automated tools and review processes. The application of managerial control will also be involved in this step. Brief Description The project is being carried out by Makeovers R Us, an organization that has expertise in managing renovations of houses and gardens. The project client is Cecile, an accountant who wishes to get her kitchen renovated. The kitchen has to be renovated completely and there are specifications that have been listed out by Cecile. The decision on the selection of the contractor of the project by Cecile is based on the project schedule as five weeks, best storage solution, and reasonable temporary kitchen space. Tools, Techniques, and Processes The risk management process will have five phases involved as risk identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation and prioritization, risk treatment response, and risk monitoring control. The tools and techniques that will be involved in the process will include information investigation techniques as interviews, brainstorming, observation, and documentation. Root Cause Analysis is a technique that will be applied on the risks identified to find out further risks along with the checklist analysis. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis will be applied to under the project factors and to determine the risks. Data analytics tools will be used in the risk analysis process. Probability and impact analysis will be carried out to understand the risks that may require an immediate response. Positive Risks The primary criteria for Cecile are to ensure that the renovation of her kitchen is done in the specified project schedule and allocated budget. These two constraints may be used as an opportunity to fulfil the project objectives and turn the risks in the positive areas by accomplishing the project activities before the estimated schedule and under the estimated budget. There will be specific duration assigned to each of the project activities and the application of the efforts in the accurate direction will ensure that the project activities are completed within or before the schedule estimated. The same approach may be used in terms of the budget along with the negotiations with the suppliers and vendors. Consequence Likelihood Risk Consequence Rating Description of Possible Consequences Schedule Risks (Positive) High Positive feedback by Cecile and enhancement of organizational reputation Budget Risks (Positive) High Positive feedback by Cecile and enhancement of organizational reputation Technical Risks Moderate Disruption in the execution of project activities causing delays Environmental Risks Critical Inability to carry out renovation tasks due to poor weather conditions or other environmental changes Operational Risks Moderate Execution of the operational task that may not be rolled back Risk Likelihood Rating Description of Possible Likelihood Schedule Risks (Positive) Low Application of the effort in correct direction with resources outperforming their usual efficiency and productivity levels Budget Risks (Positive) Low Drop in the prices of tools and equipment, completion of project activities before estimated schedule, negotiations with the suppliers Technical Risks Moderate Breakdown or fault in the technical tool or equipment Environmental Risks Moderate Natural hazards, breakdown of electrical/power supply Operational Risks High Operational error by a resource Quantitative Risk Analysis Technique Decision tree analysis will be used to understand the possible risks, the alternative and the conditions that may impact the likelihood and consequences of the risks. A tree-like structure will be represented comprising of all the risks and the specific alternatives involved. Expected Monetary Value (EMV) analysis will be used as a risk analysis technique to calculate the outcomes of the risk situations identified. The monetary impact of the risk situations will be assessed through this technique. Risk Response Template The following template shall be used to provide risk response. Risk Register Risk Consequence Rating Critical 5 High 4 Moderate 3 Low 2 Insignificant - 1 Likelihood Rating Critical 5 High 4 Moderate 3 Low 2 Insignificant - 1 Risk Score (Consequences x Rating) Risk Response Strategy Schedule Risks (Positive) High Low 8 Risk Acceptance Budget Risks (Positive) High Low 8 Risk Acceptance Technical Risks Moderate Moderate 9 Risk Transfer Environmental Risks Critical Moderate 15 Risk Mitigation Operational Risks Moderate High 12 Risk Avoidance Risk Monitoring Control The risk register, results of gap analysis, and the list of approved change requests will be required for the purpose of risk monitoring and control. There will be techniques required for risk monitoring and control. The risk reassessment shall be done to understand the changes that may have happened in rating during the project lifecycle. Risk audits shall also be done to understand the effectiveness of the review process. Variance analysis must be done to find out the schedule and budget variance. The process shall also involve status meetings and reporting activities so that the risk status and the pending effort to be applied may be monitored and evaluated. Outline of the Report Element Identify Project Risks If specific volume or frequency is not stated , the evidence must be provided at least once Context Date of Observation/ Comments Satisfactory (Please Tick) Determine the risk objectives and standards for the project Risk Identification Step 28-02-2018 P Establish risk context and identify project risks Risk Identification Step 28-02-2018 P Classify project risks according to risk categories Risk Identification Step 28-02-2018 P Element Analyse Project Risks If specific volume or frequency is not stated , the evidence must be provided at least once Context Date of Observation/ Comments Satisfactory (Please Tick) Determine risk analysis classification criteria and apply to a risk ranking system for a project Risk Analysis Step 07-03-2018 P Follow risk analysis processes to analyse and qualify risks , threats, and opportunities that apply to a project Risk Analysis Step 07-03-2018 P Determine risk priorities and document the outcomes of risk analysis in a risk register Risk Analysis Step 07-03-2018 P Contribute to the development of a risk management plan Risk Analysis Step 07-03-2018 P Element Establish risk treatment and controls If specific volume or frequency is not stated , the evidence must be provided at least once Context Date of Observation/ Comments Satisfactory (Please Tick) Identify and document existing controls used for project risk management Risk Treatment Control Step 14-03-2018 P Consider and determine risk treatment options using agreed consultative methods and record outcome Risk Treatment Control Step 14-03-2018 P Update risk plans, allocating responsibility to appropriate team members Risk Treatment Control Step 14-03-2018 P Element Monitor and control project risks If specific volume or frequency is not stated , the evidence must be provided at least once Context Date of Observation/ Comments Satisfactory (Please Tick) Develop a process to review risk processes on a regular basis Risk Monitor Control Step 14-03-2018 P Develop strategies to monitor risk environment to identify changes circumstances impacting project risks Risk Monitor Control Step 14-03-2018 P Determine risk response to an identified change to circumstances Risk Monitor Control Step 14-03-2018 P Implement a risk response plan and modify plans to maintain currency of risk treatments and controls Risk Monitor Control Step 14-03-2018 P Element Assess risk management outcomes If specific volume or frequency is not stated , the evidence must be provided at least once Context Date of Observation/ Comments Satisfactory (Please Tick) Review project outcomes to determine effectiveness of risk management processes and procedures Assessment of Risk Management Outcomes 21-03-2018 P Identify and document risk management issues and recommended improvements for application to future projects Assessment of Risk Management Outcomes 21-03-2018 P Evaluation Criteria The risk management plan and its associated processes, policies, procedures, tools, techniques, and activities developed for Makeover R Us project are required to be evaluated. The evaluation process is carried in the monitoring and control phase of the project to come up with the positive and negative aspects along with the areas of improvement. The following evaluation criteria are used to understand the risk management plan and its associated mechanisms. Effectiveness: The risks associated with the project along with their status and completion will be assessed. Achieving project goals and objectives: The ability of the project to achieve its goals and objectives will be determined on the basis of the risks generated in the project and the treatment strategy. Impact: The impact of the risk management process and procedure on the project will be evaluated. Cost Variance: The actual and estimated values of the project costs will be analysed. The increased gaps will indicate the failure of the risk management plan and process and vice versa. Schedule Variance: The actual and estimated values of the project schedule will be analysed. The increased gaps will indicate the failure of the risk management plan and process and vice versa. Evaluation of Risk Management Processes The risk management process that has been used in the project has been illustrated below. The risks identified in the project are schedule risks, budget risks, technical risks, environmental risks, and operational risks. The risks management process has been evaluated as per the criteria above. Risk Name Effectiveness Project Goals Objectives Impact Cost Variance Schedule Variance Schedule Risks The risk has been treated using the risk avoidance and acceptance strategy by regular reviews and inspections. The negative impacts could be controlled as a result. The positive impacts were incorporated. The risk status is now closed. The risk did not have any negative effect on the project goals and objectives. The impacts were positive as the project activities could be completed before the estimated schedule. Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Budget Risks The risk has been treated using the risk avoidance and acceptance strategy by regular reviews and inspections. The negative impacts could be controlled as a result. The positive impacts were incorporated. The risk status is now closed. The risk did not have any negative effect on the project goals and objectives. The impacts were positive as the project activities could be completed within the estimated budget. Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Technical Risks The risk has been treated using risk transfer as the response strategy. The risk status is now closed. The risk did not have any negative effect on the project goals and objectives. The negative impacts were controlled due to implementation of risk management processes. Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Environmental Risks The risk has been treated using risk mitigation as the response strategy. The risk status is now closed. The risk did not have any negative effect on the project goals and objectives. The negative impacts were controlled due to implementation of risk management processes. Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Operational Risks The risk has been treated using risk avoidance as the response strategy. The risk status is now closed. The risk did not have any negative effect on the project goals and objectives. The negative impacts were controlled due to implementation of risk management processes. Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Less than 10% - within the tolerable limits Evaluation of Policies Procedures The objectives of the risk management plan and mechanisms were to make sure that the project goals and objectives could be achieved as per the estimated budget and schedule. The risk management policies and procedures could be achieved as none of the risks are in the open state and there are no negative impacts of any of the risks identified. There were changes that had to be implemented to avoid, mitigate, and control the risks. The cost and schedule variance calculated in each case is less than 10%. As a result, the risk management policies and procedures are found to be effective, impactful, and adequate. Evaluation of Tools Techniques There were various techniques that were used in the process of data gathering and collection for identification and assessment of the risks. These techniques included surveys, interviews, observations, domain analysis, and brainstorming sessions. These techniques allowed the members of the project team members to have the data and information sets to prepare the list of the risks and to treat the same. Theproject management methodology asProject Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) was applied in the project and risk management knowledge areas was used to treat the risks. The analysis techniques, such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), Pareto chart, and Cause Effect diagrams were used to assess and evaluate the risks. Areas of Improvements The evaluation process also highlighted some of the areas that could be improved in the process of risk management. The first area is the use data analytics tools in the process. These are the automated tools that may be applied on the data and information sets to identify the associated patterns and trends that may be involved. These tools should have been used in the process of risk identification and risk assessment. The use of these tools would have provided the patterns that would have led to better prevention and treatment of the risks for root cause analysis. The second areas that are suggested for improvement in the risk management plan and process is the use of other automated tools for risk monitoring, control, and reporting. There are risks reporting tools that have been developed and should have been integrated so that risk reports were prepared and circulated to keep a track of the process.

Beginning Psychology Essay

Beginning Psychology Essay Beginning Psychology Essay 1. Define "psychology." - The scientific study of mind and behavior. 2. Explain why using intuition about everyday behavior is insufficient for completely understanding the causes of behavior. - There are a variety of biases that often influence our perceptions and lead us to make the wrong conclusions. 3. What are empirical methods? What is the scientific method? How do the two relate? Empirical method is a way to collect and organize data and draw conclusions, like trial and error. Scientific method is one form of empirical. Scientific method is set rules and procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical methods. 4. Name the three levels of explanation (perspectives) in psychology, and the process underlying each one. Give an example of each related to success in college. Lower – biological / A person born to very intelligent parents would be more likely to be successful in college. Middle – interpersonal / A parent can teach their child how important it is to study and encourage good grades. Higher – cultural / Other countries are more aggressive with teaching and how much time children spend at school and have higher expectations from their students. 5. List and define the four challenges of studying psychology. Individual differences – Each person is unique. One person could go into a deep depression after losing a loved one while another grieves and moves on displaying only slight symptoms of depression. Multiply determined – There is rarely just one reason for certain human behavior (violence, child abuse). Linked causes – The causes of certain behaviors are often linked so that is it difficult or impossible to decipher which reason has the most effect. Unconscious processes - Reasons we are unaware of, one example is repressed memories. 6. List and define the five most important questions that psychologists address. Nature vs. nurture – The difference between what is inherited (genes) and our environment. Free will vs. determinism – The difference between having control over one’s own actions or more influenced by factors out of one’s control. Accuracy vs. inaccuracy – The determination that people have the ability to make good decision when those decisions could actually be effected by personal preferences and biases. Conscious vs. unconscious processing – to be aware of what is causing our actions as opposed to being unaware of why we sometimes act the way we do. Differences vs. similarities – Are there differences between men and women? Differences because of culture or ethnicity? Or are we all basically the same? 7. What is structuralism, developed by Wundt? What method did structuralists use to study the mind? What were the limitations of that method? What are the two â€Å"firsts† accredited to structuralists? Structuralism is the study of the conscious psychological elements. Structuralists used introspection, participants explained their experiences while completing tasks. The limitations were that instances where participants could not explain how they came up with answers for a simple math problem, the unconscious process. The realization of the unconscious process was one â€Å"first†. Another â€Å"first† was that Wundt discovered it took a person longer to report a stimulus rather than just respond to it. 8. What is functionalism, developed by James? What field of psychology developed out of functionalism? What is the major imitation of that field? Functionalism was to figure out why animals and humans develop particular psychological aspects. The field of evolutionary psychology developed from functionalism. Its major limitation is that we cannot predict which psychological characteristics our ancestors possessed. 9. What is the field of psychology that Freud developed? What is the general influence of this approach? What central ideas from that field are still important to psychology today? The field Freud developed was psychodynamic

Vandalistic Behavior,Bullying and Violence on Campus Essay Example

Vandalistic Behavior,Bullying and Violence on Campus Essay Example Vandalistic Behavior,Bullying and Violence on Campus Essay Vandalistic Behavior,Bullying and Violence on Campus Essay Abstract American Campus was and is usually idealized to be a sanctum for academic study. However, beneath the semblance of peaceful ivory tower, American campus nowadays is on and off plagued by an alloy of miscellaneous violence which has increasingly become a serous social problem. On the one hand, violence is taking place on American campus on a more frequent basis, and on the other hand, the way the violence is committed tends to be crueler, more violent and traumatically hurtful. In view of the increasingly worsening situation, it would be of enormous significance o look into the nature and scope of current violence on American campus and reveal the root causes for campus violence. This thesis presents the vandalistic behavior, bullying, sexual violence, hate violence, and mass murder as the typical violence typology on campus. According to the social learning theory, violence is interpreted as an outcome of students appropriating from their environments and popular culture aggressive behavior. Drawing upon the social learning theory, this thesis looks into a complex set of social factors that give rise to campus violence in the U. S. including the violence cult, gun ownership, and social tension factors such as racism, sexism and religious conflicts. Despite decades- long efforts taken by American society to combat violence, the adverse trend has not yet been reversed, or is likely to be in the foreseeable future. The underlying reason in that respect lies in some cultural, political and social forces deep-rooted in the American culture, which make the campus violence disease determinedly intractable, or even ineradicable. In this sense, to understand campus violence is in fact to understand American culture and society. Key words: Campus Violence, Social Learning Theory, American Society, Causes and Typology Behaviors. Shooting. ? Campus Violence.. . 16 2. 2. 2 Violence on Mass Media. Campus. Tension.. ? RootsContents American Campus Violence: an Overview. 5 1 1 1 Chapter One . 5 1. 2 Campus Violence .. 7 1. 2. 1 Vandalistic .. 8 1. 2. 2 .. 8 1. 2. sexual .. 9 1. 2. 4 Hate .. 10 1. 2. 5 Mass Murder/ .. 11 1. 3 Summary .. 12 Chapter Two Causes of 14 2. 1 The Theories on .. 14 2. 2 Violence . 16 2. 2. 1 Violence Cult in American .. 18 2. 2. 3 Violence cult on .. 20 2. 3 social .. 22 2. 3. 1 .. 252. 3. 3 .. 27 2. 4 Easy Access to . . 29 Chapter Three The Intractable Nature Gun.. of Campus Violence.. 33 3. 1 Cultural Legacy: Radical Individualism. 33 3. 2 Political Clout: Pro-Gun Interest Group. 6 3. 3 Social Institution: Escalated Social Conclusion. Bibliography. ? .. 421 Introduction For many years, c ollege campuses have been viewed as an ivory tower that is insulated from violence. In actual fact, however, the notion of the campus as a crime- free oasis is a myth, as in the case of the United States. Not only does violence or crime at large affect schools and colleges themselves in America, but in some respects its campuses have become fertile ground for violent or criminal behaviors that permeate beyond campus. The sharp escalation of youth violence from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s led to the descriptions of it as unprecedented (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1992), as epidemic (Tolmas, 1998: 483-492; U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), and ubiquitous (Tolan, 2001), respectively. In 2005, the FBI declared 2,712 known violent crimes in the universities and colleges across all states. According to the estimates by the Department of Justice, the number of Juveniles arrested for violent crimes will double by the year 2010(Snyder Sickmund, 2006: 1 11). With the escalation of campus violence, many scholars have made great efforts to study the problem from different perspectives. Deanna C. Linville, for example, examines how extracurricular activities, such as participation in non-school clubs, religious activities, exercise frequency and number of sports team memberships relate to rural youth violence (2005: 483-492). Ann Bellotti attributes the etiology of violence in the college and university setting to beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors which may predispose, enable, and reinforce violence (1995: 105-123). Thomas W. Farmer and Elizabeth M. Z. Farmer suggest that aggression and school violence involve the contributions of both school social dynamics and the evelopmental histories of youth who are at risk for involvement in antisocial behavior (2004: 377-396). In these earlier studies on campus violence, there is a tendency to define the scope of the problem of campus violence narrowly, and this is likely to impede the understanding of the phenomenon and its dimensions, and compromises efforts to respond to it. In reaction to such limitation in previous studies, this thesis puts forward an integrated definition of campus violence by encompassing2 not only the violence resulting in physical harm but also the psychological or emotional trauma caused by it. Apart from putting forth an expanded definition to guide a comprehensive recognition of the problem of campus violence, this thesis draws upon the social learning theory to examine and analyze campus violence in the United States from the social, historical and cultural perspectives. In Chapter One, the author points out the conventional definition of campus violence which focuses on the visible physical harm produced by violence but neglects the psychological harm. Moreover, the usual definition ignores the thesis puts forth a more integrated definition of campus violence, and based on the efinition, presents hate and sexual violence that are driven by racism and sexism in society. Apart from that, campus bullying and mass shooting are two types of campus violence that have come to the forefront of the publics attention. Chapter Two proceeds to probe into the social factors that give rise to campus violence. Drawing upon the social learning theory, the thesis emphasizes that the social and cultural environment where a person is exposed to plays an influencing part in a persons behavior. Campus is a microcosm of society at large and the violence cult of America constitutes the fundamental cause of American campus violence. In At Zero Tolerance, Ronnie Casella concluded the cause of violence as follows: The United States has yet to view violence as an outcome of a national history that has been violent, of an economic system that creates the social isolation and hopelessness that causes some violence, and a culture that has come to accept and even prosper from everyday forms of aggression against the less powerful in the world. Unfortunately, this context of violence is not even recognized until it is the white and middle-class kids who become embroiled in the mayhem (2001:37). 3 However, the origins of violence lie in a complex set of influence. No single factor can provide the definitive answer to the question of why students commit violence so often and so casually. In addition to the violence cult, other social factors contributing campus violence need to be taken into account. A sample of 222 African American, Mexican American, or European American undergraduate students completed questionnaires as sessing lifetime exposure to interpersonal violence and current levels of psychological distress. The frequency of interpersonal violence was high: 39. 2% of the students reported direct exposure to at least one violent, nonsexual life event and 43. % reported at least one violent sexual experience. 14% of the participants had lifetime diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, with the highest reported rate occurring for the African Americans, who also reported more violent sexual and nonsexual experiences and higher levels of psychological distress. Women reported more direct sexual experiences whereas men reported more nonsexual violent events (Satcher, 2001 : 7). Given that the respondents who had been victimized all came from minority groups, and that the female respondents were the easy targets of sexual violence, this sample indicates that racism and sexism are still irectly or indirectly causing campus violence. Moreover, the campus simply reflects the greater problem in society, where firearms are used in 60% of homicides, 41 % of robberies, 23 % of aggravated assaults, and 10 % of rapes (Espelage Swearer, 2003: 365-383). The easy access to gun is another factor that facilitates the prevalence of campus violence. Chapter Three looks into the forces deep-rooted in American society that makes the eradication of violence on campus difficult or even impossible. This is approached from three aspects: cultural, political and social. First, the thesis argues that ndividualism, as a highly lauded cultural legacy of the nation, bestows excessive freedom to the individuals. Secondly, with the gun interest group pursuing lucrative profits and backing up the gun ownership, gun acquisition wont be restricted within a short time soon. Finally, as the social tension resulting from the racial, sexual as to remain unchanged in a foreseeable future. As campus violence worsens off, it is worth attention and serious research work by related scholars and campus authority. This paper is a tentative attempt in this direction, intended to shed some light on the study of American campus violence. Chapter One American Campus Violence: an Overview 1. 1 Definition Campus violence has been present on American campus ever since the existence of campus and it has become one of the trickiest and the most serious issues in American society. Each year the boundaries of violence extend. Many scholars have studied the subject and formulated their own versions of definition for campus violence. The concept of violence literally means physical force used to inflict injury or damage. It connotes an intense manifestation of strength, usually involving some severe physical effects. As Gerald Priestland says, he essence of violence is that physical power is deliberately employed, with the ultimate sanction of physical pain, and little choice but surrender or physical resistance(1974: 19). And the archetypal act of violencethe image that we are likely to have of it-is something like punching someone on the nose, or stabbing them, or beating them. Accordingly, campus violence is conventionally defined as the use of force, often extreme physical force, by a student toward other people or himself/herself that results in harm. Berg defined violence in the campus setting as the use or threat of physical force with the ntent of causing physical injury, damage or intimidation of another person (2000:18). However, this kind of definition omits two critical elements of harm. First, it excludes the emotional and psychological pain that results from dominance of some over others. Violence on todays campus is more insidious, invisible, and psychologically harmful and can be done in a more explicitly civilized manner. Without sustaining actual physical force, one can still fall easy prey to violence, such as the tacit violence, discriminatory trauma and psychological abuse; second, the said definition ignores the violence of social process that produces ystematic social injury, such as that perpetuated through institutionalized racism and sexism. According to the theory of social learning initiated by Albert Bandura, individuals imitate as well as interpret and6 interact with the message of society. [P]eople are not simply reactors to external influences; they select, organize, and transform the stimuli that impinge upon them(1977: 89). In the case of campus violence, people living in an environment that prescribes certain violence standards or practice as normative will be nurtured to accept and come to terms with these acquiesced practices of violence. It should be noted that both racial and sexual violence are not rare across American campus. The implicitly rampant racism, sexism and religious discrimination in society result in hate violence with regard to race, sexuality and religion. The hate violence tends to exert on individuals or groups adverse psychological or mental impact, which might be more harmful than physical harms. For example, gender discrimination has been shown to create harmful effects on female students learning experience. When a teacher favors male students over females, because of the formers seemingly extroverted classroom participation, they eelings of inadequacy, anger, and long-term depression. As a result, the conventional definition of campus violence neglects harmful institutionalized social and educational processes, including acts and processes of institutionalized racism or sexism, other discrimination, labeling and tracking, sexual harassment, and predation (Henry, 1999: 18). Based on this analysis, when enumerating the concrete violent acts on campus, it is not adequate to assume that physical violence such as shoving, pinching, hitting, fghting, or aggravated assault cover the whole spectrum of ampus violence to the neglect of such hidden violence as verbal and psychological abuse, racially, sexually and religiously driven hate crimes that produce psychological harms other than physical injuries. Moreover, it should be noted that the exercise of the power to harm, as mentioned earlier, can also be accomplished by such factors as sexism, ageism and racism. The overlook of these broader dimensions of campus violence causes the missing of much of the content and many causes of violence on campus. In order to have a7 more accurate concept of campus violence, a more integrated definition of campus iolence is necessary. A more accurate and integrated definition should first of all replace the term force with power and by suggesting that violence is the use of power to harm another, whatever form that takes. So, the key point here is the use of power and the harm it causes when applied in a wrong way. Power is easy to understand. When broadly defined, it means the capacity to bring about change. It takes many forms, comes from many places and is measured in many ways. What is more difficult is how to define harm. What is harm? Harm, when narrowly conceived, is physical pain and suffering. But an expansive view says harm can also occur along many dimensions, beyond the physical, to include psychological or emotional; material or economic; social or identity; moral or ethical. For example, physical harms produce bodily pain or loss; material harms remove some of the persons economic standing; psychological harms have destructive effects on the human mind and weaken a persons emotional or mental functioning; social and symbolic harms lower a persons social status; moral or ethical harms corrupt standards of concern for the well-being of others (as in hate, pressure to cheat, and the like). With the inclusion of ocial practices as factors contributing to violence and the expansion on the resultant harm from violence, this thesis defines campus violence as the intentional use of power, threatened or actual, by some individual, or social process, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation. Based on this definition, the next section will put forward the representative typology of campus violence that merit attention by campus authority and U. S. government. 8 1. 2 Campus Violence Typology Based on the more integrated definition of campus violence as stated above, we can distinguish five modes in which violence may be inflicted: Vandalistic Behavior; Bullying; Hate Crime; Sexual Violence; Mass Murder/Shooting. 1. 2. 1 Vandalistic Behaviors Vandalistic behavior refers to the willful or malicious damage to school grounds and produce either explicit or implicit physical violence, bloody scene or violent confrontation between the youth, it is likely to cause psychological trauma on the targets. Specific examples for school vandalism include glass breakage, graffiti, and general property destruction. In the U. S. , these behaviors might be the external embodiment of anti-Semitism, one of the main motivations for the vandalistic behavior on campus. Nazi-related graffiti, such as the swastika, are more often than not found painted on the campus property to remind the Jews of the painful past. There has also been defacement done to numerous campus areas, such as the bobcat face, newly paved sidewalks and commuters cars. In other case of vandalism, it is found that students smear petroleum Jelly on the schools windows, throw birdseed and flour against the windows, dump paper in a courtyard and shot the uilding with paintballs. Arson also qualifies as vandalistic behavior due to its intention. According to the U. S. Department of Education (n. d. ), there were 1,098 cases of campus arson reported in 2002 Ooetta L. Carr, 2005: 9). Over the past two decades, concerns about school violence, weapons, drugs, and gangs have eclipsed apprehension and discussion about school vandalism, its causes, and possible responses. However, the alarming fact is that vandalistic behavior continues to occur regularly and to affect a significant proportion of U. S. campus. 1. 2. 2 sullytngg Bullying refers to unprovoked physical or psychological abuse of an individual by one or a group of students over time to create an ongoing pattern of harassment and abuse (Batsche Knoff, 1994:165-174; Hoover, Oliver, Thomson, 1993; Olweus, 1991:143-150). It is among the largely neglected aspect of low-level American campus violence. Not only does bullying produce physical harm, it also results in psychological detriments. Bullying usually takes place when there is an imbalance of power between aggressor and victim, and moreover, the aggressive acts are deliberate and repeated (Farrington 1993; Olweus, 1993; Smith Sharp, 1994). Although bullying is largely neglected, its occurrence frequency and coverage are both higher than other high-level campus violence. Bullying victimization is estimated to affect 15% to 20% of the U. S. tudent population, with verbal teasing and intimidation being the most common form and boys are reported to be victims at a higher rate than girls (Furlong, Chung, Bates, Morrison, 1995:289-298). Students grow up and leave school-including those mean kids of long ago, but in a certain sense the bully never actually grows up; he or she still bullies, harasses, and intimidates others. Little has changed over the years in this regard, with the possible exception that things may have gotten i mmeasurably worse-especially within the context of schooling. The gang is a cause that leads to campus bullying. Like any group of people who engage in socially disruptive or criminal behavior, gangs on campus create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. To a certain extent, the campus has become a breeding ground for gang, and the Juvenile and young adults associate together to victimize, bully and intimidate school members, carry out antisocial activities, such as omb-making, satanic websites visiting. The presence of the gang on campus undermines the campus climate to a great extent and accordingly, exerts negative 1. 2. Sexual Violence10 The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Kilmartin observes, [R]ape and other par tner iolence are the worst symptom of a larger problem: a continuum of disrespect toward women. This continuum includes mens display of negative attitudes through misogynist Jokes, demeaning pornography nd runs to the most extreme form of violence: gender motivated murder. Such an analysis also emphasizes power imbalances between the sexes and the social forces that create and maintain these imbalances. (2007: 23) In a country like the United States which finds sexism so prevailing in peoples mentality, sexual violence is not rare on American campus. It mainly includes sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. College campuses host large concentrations of young women who are at greater risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault than women in the general population or in a comparable age group. Stalking is particularly prevalent on college campuses; in fact, more than half of all stalking victims are between 18-29 years old, and 13% of college women have been stalked. In 1981 , Makepeace published the first report on dating violence, revealing that one in five college couples are involved in violent relationships. Recent studies show that as many as one in three college couples will be involved in at least one incident of iolence during the course of their dating relationship (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000; Lewis Fremouw, 2001:8(:)-84). 1. 2. Hate Violence Hate violence and its resultant victimization are becoming more prominent on Americas college campuses. Also known as bias-motivated violence, hate violence occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in al 1 certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, or political affiliation and a s a result, it is evealed that sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-lslamism and homosexuality have all induced and would continue to trigger off the occurrence of hate crime, which can take many forms. Incidents may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters. They occur at virtually every type of college and university and in every part of the nation. Perpetrators of these incidents include current and former students and non- students. According to criminologist Dr. Jack McDevitt, hate crime is different from ther crimes in that the offender is sending a message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome in a particular neighborhood, community, school, or workplace. By far the largest determinant of hate crimes is racial bias, with the group of African Americans at greatest risk. Apart from the hate crime against the Black Americans, there are ones committed against Hispanics, because of their immigration status. 1. 2. 5 Mass Murder/Shooting The April 2007 massacre of 32 victims on the otherwise bucolic campus of Virginia America. Not only was it the most devastating violent episode ever to occur at an nstitution of higher learning, it was the largest mass shooting of any kind in the nations history. Gun violence is the lethal form of campus violence. According to a recent national survey of 26,000 college students on 61 campuses, 7% of the students carried a gun or knife on the previous days. The study indicated that 11% of the men and 4% women surveyed carried weapons. Extrapolated, this means that approximately 1 million (to be exact, 980,000) students carry weapons on campus. 18% of high school students now carry a knife, razor, firearm, or other weapon on a regular basis, and 9% of them take a weapon to school. According to a national survey of 26,000 college students on 61 campuses in 1992, 7% of students carried a12 gun or knife. The outcome of such a heavily armed students group has been severe. In 1992, for example, 5,262 young people died from gunshot wounds, and an estimated 23,167 students suffered nonfatal firearm injuries that were treated in hospital emergency rooms from June 1992 through May 1993 dames Mercy Mark Rosenberg, 1998). 1. 3 Summary As demonstrated above, the most common campus violence takes forms of Vandalistic Behavior; Bullying; Hate Crime; Sexual Violence; Mass Murder/Shooting. Violence accounts for much of the morbidity and mortality among adolescents in the United States (National Center for Health Statistics, 2003). All the five types of violence are pervasive on American campuses. It was estimated that bullying victimization is calculated to affect 15% to 20% of the U. S. student population, with verbal teasing and intimidation being the most common form and boys reported to be victims at a higher rate than girls (Furlong, Chung, Bates, Morrison, 1995: 289-298). In the year of 1995, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a study specific to the problem of hate crimes on the college campus. The study included 450 higher education institutions from 40 states. Of the 450 institutions surveyed, 222 or 49% reported an incident of a hate crime. It has been estimated that almost one million college students experience racially or ethnically motivated violence annually. In a study of 1 ,012 racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse students enrolled in various campus in Los Angeles, OKeefe found that violence in dating relationships was a frequent occurrence: 43% of the females and 39% of the males reported that they had inflicted some form of physical aggression on their dating partners at least nce (1997: 546-568). Unfortunately, current epidemiological reports suggest that this form of violence is on the rise. Between 1994 and 1999, there were 220 school- associated violent events resulting in 253 deaths?74. 5% of these involved firearms. Handguns caused almost 60% of these deaths. Oournal of American Medical Association, December 2001). 13 Such pervasive violence on campus brings about detrimental consequences. School violence has been reported as one of the most important and devastating social problems facing school children and their parents, to the extent that students erceive their school context as an unsafe environment (Astor and Meyer, 2001 : 374-399). It is recognized that disruptive behaviors on campus interferes with not only teaching, but also diminishes ability to focus on academic pursuits. The fears experience psychological reactions that interfere with the learning process (American Association of University Women, 2001)14 Chapter Two Causes of Campus Violence In the previous one, this thesis puts forth a more integrated definition of campus violence vis-? ¤-vis the conventional definition that ignores the psychological facet. Based on such a broader definition, Chapter Two will adopt corresponding theories and probe into the social factors that give rise to the campus violence in American society. 2. 1 The Theories on Violence There are as many theories of violence as there are forms of violence, and these theories have been discussed in exhaustive detail in a number of books and articles. Briefly speaking, theories of violence fall into several categories. 1) Social learning theory interprets violence as learned behavior, an outcome of students appropriating from their environments and popular culture aggressive behavior and hen considering violence as norm which they replicate in their own interaction with others (David Johnson Roger Johnson, 1995). (2) Rational choice theories identifies poor reasoning skills as the cause of violence, in which case, individuals weigh the consequences of a violent crime against the possible benefits and make the rational choice to be violent-in a sense, individuals det ermine that crime pays( Jeffrey Fagan Deanna L. Wilkinson, 1998). 3) Structural theories of violence that focuses on social and environmental conditions such as poverty. Here, violence is viewed as a systemic roblem having to do with inequities in the world and a general breakdown of relations between people, which leads to social isolation, frustration, and aggression (Frederic Thrasher, 1927). (4) Biological theories focus on medical conditions and biolol gical traits of violent offenders and have roots in eugenic explanations of criminal behavior, where criminal tendencies are identified in peoples physical and psychological stigmata ?essentially, in a persons natural makeup (David Green, 1985). 5) Interactionist theory incorporates some combination of social learning and tructural theories and view violence in connection to how peoplel 5 make sense and interpret their experiences and circumstances (Brandley Levinson, Douglas Foley, Dorothy Holland, 1996). Although these theori es on violence make sense in one way or another, social learning theory has been at the forefront of explaining how external influences affect the way people behave and cited as one of the most relevant and plausible theories regarding the acquisition of violence tendency. According to the social learning theory, people learn through modeling and imitation. Albert Bandura, who is often considered as the forefather of the theory, explained that most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasion this coded information serves as a guide for action. Social learning theory has been at the forefront of explaining how influences such as media affect young children. In his book, Social Learning and Personality Development, Bandura and his colleague, Richard Walters, concluded that imitation plays an important role in the acquisition of deviant, as well as of conforming, behavior. They reiterated in their own work the basic explanation put forth several decades earlier by the them to do, but rather what they see adults dd'(Gladys Reichard, 1938: 409-86). In probing into the causes of campus violence, attention must be given to the experiences of young people and how those experiences are interpreted by them. These experiences should include those in the community and school and with others but also experiences that students have with their popular culture, with the military (including JROTC organizations in high schools), and their knowledge of easy ccess to weapons. Cultures are created in neighborhoods, families, and states, and within a national context. What is easily accepted in the United States, what is produced and used, how individuals view themselves in relation to others, all add up to define what U. S. ulture is like and who Americans are as a people. If U. S. society continues to support militarism, to tolerate the mass manufacturing and distribution of weapons16 that have caused what health experts call a national health crisis in the country, and to patronize needless violence in the media, then, those who take art in such activities continue to produce a culture that is partly defined by violence. This violence may, if other factors fall into place, lead to youth and scho ol violence. Campus violence is Just one part of violence in the rest of society. According to the influence argument, it can be inferred that Americas violence cult, the dissemination of violence via mass media, and the institutionalized sexism, racism in society all exert influences on the person who is exposed to the context. 2. 2 Violence Cult Revolving around the social learning theory, the following section will discuss the iolence cult America practices historically and militarily, how the institutionalized sexism and racism still take foothold in contemporary America, including on American campus, and how these factors contribute to the happening of violence on campus. Violence is a defining characteristic of U. S. culture. Just like Ronnie Casella said in At Zero Tolerance: U. S. has benefited from violence. Through violence, the country has sustained economic and political might abroad, has bolstered domestic and international expansions, and has served international interventions. Violence is so ervasive in America that it symbolizes freedom, masculinity, dominance, and power. To understand Americas cult on violence, it is necessary to look at it from the historical perspective, as violence is historically consistent and it has been woven into the very fabric of American personality. The