The Effects Of Prison Overcrowding On The United States Essay

The United States has the biggest imprisonment rate on the planet, and paying a high cost for it. Detainment strength finished in the mid-1970s when the jail populace expanded from 300,000 to 1.6million detainees, and the imprisonment rate from 100 for each 100,000 to more than 500 for every 100,000. Nonetheless, there is by all accounts little relationship between the wrongdoing rate and the imprisonment rate (Clear et al., 2013). One of the causes of prison overcrowding comes about because of the expansion rate of arrest and more noteworthy utilization of detainment. The criminal justice system is detaining more individuals to prison for a more drawn out period than the prison limit permits. The prison populace relies on upon the quantity of admissions and the quantity of release in a watched period. As indicated by admission and release information, drifts in the length of sentencing can be watched. Therefore, the reason behind the expansion in prison populace can be distinguished by breaking down each of the three patterns, the quantity of admissions, the quantity of releases, and the length of prison sentences (Novak, 2009). A large proportion of the prison populace is comprised of past convicts with new wrongdoing after they are discharged just to end up detained again. The offenders also may have committed a new crime that was recently established by the penal code while serving on parole. The expansion of criminal offenses to the penal code implies that offenders canShow MoreRelatedPrison Overcrowding And Its Effects On The United States Essay1605 Words   |  7 PagesPer Derek Gilna’s report on Increase in Federal Prison Population, Overcrowding, prisons have become overpopulated throughout a five-year span from 2006 to 2011 (Gilna, page 48). Prison overcrowding has become a plague in the United States for some time now. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics shows more than two-million adults are incarcerated in US federal and state prisons. There are many reasons that prisons are becoming overpopulated but not such a certain cause. To fix the problem, attentionRead MoreOvercrowding And Its Effects On The United States Prison System1178 Words   |  5 Pages Overcrowding prisons are an issue that has been influencing the United States prison population for decades, however what is the true significance of overcrowding. As indicated by Jeff Bleich (1989) â€Å"the term overcrowding is repetitive, since crowding already refers to a higher level of social density than is desired†. An overcrowded prison is a shocking condition that causes outrage and dissatisfaction among detainees (Haney, 2014). This condition is so undesirable that one can consider it as unconstitutionalRead MorePrison Overcrowding Essay1184 Words   |  5 Pages Prison Overcrowding Nicole Neal American Intercontinental University Abstract This research paper is to explore the impact of prison overcrowding. The United States has a, what seems to be everlasting, prison overcrowding problem. Not only does the United States have this dilemma, but also many other countries have overcrowded prisons as well. Many issues need to be addressed; ways to reduce the prison populations and how to effectively reduce prison cost withoutRead MorePrison Overcrowding And The United States1555 Words   |  7 Pagesones.† The prisons in the United States have been overcrowded for many years and require a change in order to fix this. Some of the main causes for prison overcrowding that will be covered in this paper are mass incarceration, long sentencing, recidivism, and prisoners of drug crimes. Overcrowding of prisons in the United States is a major issue that affects not only the prisoners themselves, but taxpayers and politicians. Although there are many different solutions to prison overcrowding such as buildingRead MorePrison Overcrowding : The United States1535 Words   |  7 Pages 2017 Prison Overcrowding The United States has the highest number of incarcerated individuals than other countries. Offenders are arrested every day for minor and major offences such as murder. America is hard on crime. When someone breaks the law the criminal justice’s system seeks an eye for an eye. Prison overcrowding has become a major problem in the United States, it is very expensive to house an inmate and there are other methods to punish offenders without sending them to prison for extendedRead MoreEffects Of Prison Overcrowding1345 Words   |  6 Pagesproblems and a few of the effects that prison overcrowding causes towards the inmates and the guards. I will first address the issue of violence that prison overcrowding causes. My next point will be the health of the inmates discussing both their physical and mental while in overcrowded prisons. Lastly I will discuss the physical and mental health of the correctional officers and how the job could lead to correctional officers having issues in their private life. Prison Overcrowding has become a majorRead MorePrison Overcrwoding in America and England1234 Words   |  5 PagesPrison overcrowding in the United States is due to many reoccurring charges that is being sentenced to inmates that have been released and returning. As the increasing inmate population is a growing concern in the U.S, many law enforcement agencies and academic expert have analyzed data about the situation and are working to combat it. Research shows that Drugs are mainly to blame. Of the inmates in federal prison as of September 2011, more than half or 50.4% was serving sentences for drug offensesRead MoreThe Overcrowding Of The Correctional Facilities1730 Words   |  7 Pagesthreat to maintaining this balance is the overcrowding of prisons. In 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that massive overcrowding of California prisons violates its prisoner’s eighth amendment right protecting them from cruel and unusual punishment (Boylan, 2015, p. 558). At the time California’s correctional institutions were at double their capacity, housing over 155, 500 prisoners in only 33 institutions (Specter, 2010, p. 194). The overcrowding of correctional facilities is one of theRead MoreIncreased Population of Prisons Essay1606 Words   |  7 PagesOvercrowded prisons and improper punishment systems are enormous social issues for our government. The United States has seen steady growth in its prisons. A projected increment in seen due to â€Å"get-tough† policies that locks up offenders for longer sentences (Ohlemacher, 2007, para. 1). The correction system had been through various phases of transformation, and the government had been tough on crime; this approach had resulted in rising prison populations. There are many factors that cause overcrowdingRead MorePrison Systems Do Not Control The Number Of Prisoners Sent1286 Words   |  6 PagesCrimes in America 26 March 27, 2016 Overcrowding in Prisons The prison systems do not control the number of prisoners sent to jails. However, they have to deal with the consequences of this fact. In the last twenty years, all over the world, it is experienced a rapid increase in the number of prisoners. This growth is not limited to any particular type of jurisdiction or political system - it is observed in all regions of the world. According to the incapacitation effect, the shorter the span of opportunity

The Colonization of the Philippines Essays - 1415 Words

Generally, textbooks, articles, and essays talk about America’s â€Å"occupation,† â€Å"supervision† or â€Å"intervention† in the Philippines. They seem to be afraid to use the word â€Å"colonization.† According to Webster’s Dictionary the definition of colonization is, â€Å"The colonial system of political government or extension of territory, by which one nation exerts political control over another nation, territory, or people, maintaining the colony in a state of dependence, its inhabitants not having the same full rights as those of the colonial power. The controlling power is typically extended thus by military force or the threat of force† (6). In his book analyzing Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, Mark Caprio makes a distinction†¦show more content†¦Although the Philippines was liberated from the Spanish in 1898, it soon found itself struggling to remain free from the United States. Aguinaldo, a re bel leader in the Philippines, desperately tried to establish a republic, however, in 1899 a three-year war broke out between Aguinaldo’s guerrilla army and the United States’ White Fleet (â€Å"Emilio Aguinaldo† 3). A report on the war states that, â€Å"The United States needed 126,000 soldiers to subdue the Philippines. The war took the lives of 4,234 Americans and 16,000 Filipinos. As usually happens in guerrilla campaigns, the civilian population suffers the worst. As many as 200,000 civilians may have died from famine and disease† (â€Å"Spanish American War† 5). By 1901 Aguinaldo and his men lessened their resistance and the Philippine Constabulary aided the U.S. in keeping peace among the remaining rebels (â€Å"Spanish American War† 6). This shows that the United States took control of the Philippines by military force, which is how a colonial power must take its colony according to the definition of colonization. Did the U.S. do this out of self-interest? Many Americans were appalled at the brutal invasion upon the Philippines’ right to independence and demanded an explanation. President McKinley assured the U.S. of its altruistic interests by saying, â€Å"We could not leave them toShow MoreRelatedThe Spanish Colonization in the Philippines757 Words   |  4 PagesTHE SPANISH COLONIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines was very lucky because our country was rich in natural resources. And that is the reason why many foreign countries had colonized our country. Spain is one of the foreign countries that colonized our country for more than three hundred years. They are the reason why Filipinos experienced suffered, hardship, persecution etc. during their colonization. But the Spanish had alsoRead MoreThe United States And The Colonization Of The Philippines1239 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1889 America colonize the Philippines because of imperialism. After the colonization of the Philippines the Filipinos could come and work in the United States because they had passports that allowed them. The Filipinos then work in agriculture, fishery and service industry, however when they are in the mainland and technically they were not aliens because the Philippines is U.S. territory, the Filipinos weren’t exempted to racism. In the 1930 signs that says â€Å"Positively no Filipinos allowed† canRead MoreAmerican Imperialism and the Colonization of the Philippines Essay1583 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Imp erialism and the Colonization of the Philippines The irony of the 1898 Spanish-American war was that Americans fought partly to aid Cubans in the fight for Cuban sovereignty, and the United States ended up colonizing some territories they won from Spain, like the Philippines. Despite America’s previous claims of only supporting independence and democracy, the United States became an imperialist power and colonized the Philippines (Introduction to the Spanish-American war and theRead MoreColonization Or Imperialism Is Done By Treaties Or Agreements?1652 Words   |  7 Pages Colonization Lis Mendez AIU Online Abstract Prior to the modern or new era it was believed that conquers who conquered other lands had the right to take possession of that land, its riches, resources and even the people in order to achieve their own political agenda. Today the concept has changed, colonization or imperialism is done by treaties or agreements, they are acts in which governments negotiate with a less powerful country, they lead them to believe that their colonization willRead MoreAmerican Contibution to the Philippines1221 Words   |  5 PagesContribution of American to the Philippines 1. Independence  - America helped the Philippines to eliminate the Spaniards in the country thus helping the Filipinos to end the suffering from the Spanish reign. This was the first step of the country to stand on their own and start a new beginning.   2. Government  -we adapted and patterned some of our constitution with the Americans.   3  Sports  - Filipino favourite sport had been basketball, and other foreign sports instead of the national sports whichRead MoreEvents of the Philippine Island1143 Words   |  5 PagesChapter 8 of Antonio de Morgas Events of the Philippines Islands with the Rizal annotation. Then take one section of Chapter 8 which talks about precolonial cultures and IN YOUR OWN WORDS, discuss its significance and use to our present-day ideas of culture, history, and identify. Jose Rizal’s annotation of Antonio Morgas Historical Events of the Philippine’s Islands. â€Å"Rizal had a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the Philippines when the Spaniards came ashore to the islandsRead MoreCharacteristics Of Culture In The Philippines910 Words   |  4 Pagesthe creativity and imagination a country’s culture has to offer. Cultural characteristics define a country as its own and produces an effective way to separate one country from another. The Republic of the Philippines is one of the most popular countries in the Pacific Asia. The Philippines is a country made of many beautiful islands and vacation hot spots that attract many tourists. Filipinos are known for their positive attitudes and hospitable characteristics. They are known for a huge varietyRead MoreThe Philippines : Economic, Political, And Military Indicators1457 Words   |  6 PagesThe Philippines is an island in Southeast Asia that consists of more than 7, 100 islands. For a small country, it has such a rich history. It has gone through colonization of various states such as Spain and the United States. According to the Fund for Peace 2016 Fragility State Index, the Philippines is categorized in the High Warning with a score of 84.7. This rank takes into account various factors: social, economic, political and military indicators. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan sailed to theRead MoreWhite Man s Burden By Rudyard Kipling1354 Words   |  6 PagesEurope an feel of superiority over the indigenous peoples. Kipling published this poem when the Americans were conquering different places. In fact, the original subtitle of this poem was â€Å"The United States and the Philippine Islands.† This was because the United States had acquired the Philippines from Spain after winning the Spanish-American War. Kipling was inspired by these events and decided to publish his poem for all the public to see. This poem was a call or a summoning for the white men to showRead MoreA Journey Back Home At Home957 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand and embrace the Filipino culture? Go visit the country. All of us were excited and looked forward to this memorable trip back home to my native land, Philippines. Philippines This country was discovered in 1543 by Villalobos, a Spanish explorer. He then named the country in honor of King Philip of Spain, thus; the name Philippines. It is located in Southeast Asia. It is an archipelago between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. This country consists of 7,100 island; of which three

Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation of the Eagle Manufacturing Company Free Essays

A. Ted Jones has been the supply manager for the Eagle Manufacturing Company for the past two years. B. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation of the Eagle Manufacturing Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although Ted Jones has a great team of buyers, expediters, and support staff who carry out top notch work, the morale in Ted’s department is low. i. One of the senior buyer’s in Ted’s department, Bill Wilson, submitted his resignation. Bill accepted a position at another company where he will be paid substantially more although he will be doing the same work and will be under the same amount of stress. C. The previous month’s performance data for the office shows: 743 transactions, 98 percent with delivery on or before specified dates, 87 percent of supplies and material purchases at or within 5 percent of target price, 9 percent late deliveries, and a 5 percent rejection rate of materials and supplies received. D. A purchase request for a new robot, that according to estimates would cost $5. 5 million, was submitted by the maintenance department. It was supposed to be delivered and operational in seven months and only one source of supply was able to meet the delivery date. . An experienced buyer in Ted’s department, John McCauly, was negotiating with Fenwick Electronics for the robot. Although the maintenance department proposed $5. 5 million, Fenwick proposed $7. 2 million. Because of time, Fenwick was the sole source for obtaining the robot. b. John learned that the $5. 5 million estimate on the robot was in reality not an estimate but the amount budgeted for the machine last year. E. Several members from other departments of Eagle Manufacturing Company are not satisfied with Ted and the supply management department’s work. c. The Vice President of Operations, Tim Raines, and the Vice President of Marketing, Ron Hankins, were not happy that operations had run out of parts that week. Also the quality of the incoming parts was causing major production problems. d. The president’s secretary was not satisfied with the poor quality of the janitorial services contractor. e. The head of administration, Mary Jacobs was not satisfied with the quality of the new brand of paper which was constantly jamming the machine thus reducing productivity and increasing frustration amongst the administration epartment. II. Major Problem A. One major problem is communication between the various department and an understanding of the ins and out of each department and how each function of each department can affect another department in some way. B. Another problem is the quality of the services or products purchased by the supply management department. Because the quality of the services or products were low, the quali ty of work or product are also low which can affect profit and can also affect the way another department can accomplish tasks. III. Possible Solutions/Alternatives A. Communication would greatly help this situation. For example John, who is a buyer in Ted’s department did not know the $5. 5 million estimate on the new robot was actually the amount budgeted for the robot from the previous year. If John, the maintenance department, and even the finance department had been in frequent communication with each other regarding the new robot, John would have had a basis for developing a realistic negotiating objective with the supplier of the robot, Fenwick Electronics. There really is no disadvantage to good communication within each department. B. Each department needs to understand how the activities in their department can affect other departments, company profits etc. For example supply management, manufacturing, and operations are related. New product development begins with the manufacturing department. The manufacturing department submits a materials requisition to the supply management department. If the manufacturing department does not give the supply management department sufficient time to compare costs in order to purchase wisely, the company will most likely pay higher prices for materials. C. Eagle Manufacturing Company should hire a Director of Quality Assurance if they have not done so already. The Director of Quality Assurance would be involved in the development of new products to involvement in sourcing, supplier development, and qualifying the potential supplier. The Director of Quality Assurance’s objective would be to minimize quality problems throughout the supply chain thus minimizing problems other departments may experience. Although hiring somebody to handle quality assurance would be another expense to Eagle Manufacturing Company, hiring somebody to handle quality assurance would be like an investment. This person would ensure that the quality of a potential supplier is exceptional which would then create good quality work which would then increase profits for Eagle Manufacturing Company. IV. Choice and Rationale Eagle Manufacturing should first and most importantly focus on good communication within their departments and also make sure each department understands how all departments are interconnected and affect one another. Encouraging and maintaining open communication throughout the procurement process will 1) reduce the frustrations within each department and raise company morale and 2) possibly cut costs for supplies. V. Implementation/The Action Plan Ted Jones, the supply management manager for Eagle Manufacturing, must discuss the communication problem between departments to manager of each department immediately. How to cite Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation of the Eagle Manufacturing Company, Papers

The Road To Makkah ( Muhammad Asad ) free essay sample

A critical review of the Muslim authors autobiography, focusing on the authors bias toward Arabs and Islam. Muhammad Asad, in The Road to Makkah, writes his autobiography in an honest, fascinating and accessible way which draws the reader along from chapter to chapter. What most draws the reader into the story of Asads life is his humility, his refusal to try to make himself more important in history than he believes he really is. He sees his life as primarily a spiritual journey, having to do more with the work of God -Allah -in his life than with any great accomplishment on his own part: The story I am going to tell . . . is not the autobiography of a man conspicuous for his role in public affairs; . . . it is not even the story of a deliberate search for faith -for that faith came upon me . . . without any endeavor on my part. We will write a custom essay sample on The Road To Makkah ( Muhammad Asad ) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page . . . My story is simply the story of a Europeans discovery of

How to Organize a Dorm Room

How to Organize a Dorm Room Given how ridiculously tiny the room might be, knowing how to organize a dorm room can be a challenge. So just what can you do to make the most of what space you do have? Dont have anything in the room that serves only one function. Sure, that plug-in grilled cheese maker seems cool, but it takes up a lot of space and can only do one thing. Make sure that every item in your room serves more than one function. For example, pick a speaker system for your iPhone that charges it at the same time. Use a throw on your bed that you can also take to football games when it gets cold outside. Youre paying a lot for that little room make sure your stuff is earning its keep, too! Think about the actual number of things youll really need at any time. Do you really need 20 highlighters? Or will 5 do? Let your campus bookstore be the one to keep things in stock; you can always run down there and get more of any supply (or borrow some from your roommate or friends down the hall). Split things with your roommate. Do you really need two printers? Two mini-fridges? Two MLA manuals? Of course, if sharing makes things get sticky, avoid this rule ... but, most likely, yo u and your roommate can make things work out by sharing some of the most important stuff. And you can save some sacred space (and cash) in the meantime. Avoid empty space. You probably have a duffel bag or suitcase for your trips home (or elsewhere). When you store them in your closet, dont store them empty. Put out-of-season clothes, big jackets, blankets, and anything else that will fit inside of them. Is there room under your bed? Buy storage boxes and cram in as much as you can. Youll still have your stuff accessible but no longer in the way. Aim for keeping things organized as often as you can. You may hear echoes of your mother in this rule, but its true: in a space that is especially small, keeping things organized will make the space seem larger. If youre pulling an all-nighter, getting everything off your desk except the stuff you need will help as your ability to focus starts to fade. If you like to read and study on your bed, being able to do so without having to fight for space with your laundry will make it easier on both your body and your brain.

The Problem With Feudalism

The Problem With Feudalism Medieval historians arent generally bothered by words. In fact, the intrepid medievalist is always ready to leap into the rough-and-tumble milieu of Old English word origins, medieval French literature, and Latin Church documents. Icelandic Sagas hold no terror for the medieval scholar! Next to these challenges, the esoteric terminology of medieval studies is mundane, and no threat to the historian of the Middle Ages. But theres one word that has become the bane of medievalists everywhere. Use it in discussing medieval life and society, and the average medieval historian will screw up his face in revulsion. There might be some sighs, some head shaking, and perhaps even some hands thrown in the air. What is this word that has the power to annoy, disgust, and even upset the ordinarily cool and collected medievalist? Feudalism. Every student of the Middle Ages is at least somewhat familiar with feudalism. The term is usually defined as follows: Feudalism was the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. It was a hierarchical system of social relationships wherein a noble lord granted land known as a fief to a free man, who in turn swore fealty to the lord as his vassal and agreed to provide military and other services. A vassal could also be a lord, granting portions of the land he held to other free vassals; this was known as subinfeudation, and often led all the way up to the king. The land granted to each vassal was inhabited by serfs who worked the land for him, providing him with income to support his military endeavors; in turn, the vassal would protect the serfs from attack and invasion. Of course, this is an extremely simplified definition, and there are many exceptions and caveats that go along with this model of medieval society, but the same could be said of any model applied to a historical period. Generally, it is fair to say that this is the explanation for feudalism youll find in most history textbooks of the 20th century, and it is very close to every dictionary definition available. The problem? Virtually none of it is accurate. Feudalism  was  not the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. There was no hierarchical system of lords and vassals engaged in a structured agreement to provide military defense. There was no subinfeudation leading up to the king. The arrangement whereby serfs worked the land for a lord in return for protection, known as manorialism or seignorialism, was not part of a feudal system. Monarchies of the early Middle Ages may have had their challenges and their weaknesses, but kings did not use feudalism to exert control over their subjects, and the feudal relationship was not the glue that held medieval society together. In short, feudalism as described above never existed in Medieval Europe. We know what youre thinking. For decades, even centuries, feudalism has characterized our view of medieval society. If it never existed, then why did so many historians say it did for so long? Werent there entire books written on the subject? Who has the authority to say that all those historians were wrong? And if the current consensus among the experts in medieval history is to reject feudalism, why is it still presented as reality in nearly every medieval history textbook? The best way to answer these questions is to engage in a little historiography. Lets begin with a look at the origin and evolution of the term feudalism. A Post-Medieval What, Now? The first thing to understand about the word feudalism is that it was never used during the Middle Ages. The term was invented by 16th- and 17th-century scholars to describe a political system of several hundred years earlier. This makes feudalism a post-medieval construct. Theres nothing inherently wrong with constructs. They help us understand alien ideas in terms more familiar to our modern thought processes. The phrases Middle Ages and medieval are constructs, themselves. (After all, medieval people didnt think of themselves as living in a middle age they thought they were living in the now, just like we do.) Medievalists may not like the way the term medieval is used as an insult, or how absurd myths of past customs and behavior are commonly attributed to the Middle Ages, but most are confident that the use of middle ages and medieval to describe the era as in between the ancient and early modern eras is satisfactory, however fluid the definition of all three time frames may be. But medieval has a fairly clear meaning based on a specific, easily-defined viewpoint. Feudalism cannot be said to have the same. In 16th  century France,  Humanist  scholars grappled with the history of Roman law and its authority in their own land. They examined, in depth, a substantial collection of Roman law books. Among these books was something called the  Libri Feudorum- the Book of Fiefs. The  Libri Feudorum  was a compilation of legal texts concerning the proper disposition of fiefs, which were defined in these documents as lands held by people referred to as vassals. The work had been put together in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the 1100s, and over the course of the intervening centuries, many lawyers and other scholars had commented on it and added definitions and interpretations, or  glosses.  The  Libri Feudorum  is an extraordinarily significant work that, to this day, has been barely studied since the 16th-century French lawyers gave it a good look. In the course of their evaluation of the Book of Fiefs, the scholars made some fairly reasonable assumptions: That the fiefs under discussion in the texts were pretty much the same as the fiefs of 16th-century France- that is, lands belonging to nobles.That the  Libri Feudorum  was addressing actual legal practices of the 11th century and not simply expounding on an academic concept.That the explanation of the origins of fiefs contained in the  Libri Feudorum- that is, that grants were initially made for as long as the  lord  chose, but were later extended to the grantees lifetime and  afterward  made hereditary- was a reliable history and not mere conjecture. The assumptions may have been reasonable- but were they correct? The French scholars had every reason to believe they were, and no real reason to dig any deeper. After all, they werent so much interested in the historical  facts of the time period as they were in the legal questions addressed in the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Libri Feudorum.  Their foremost consideration was whether or not the laws even had any authority in France- and, ultimately, the French lawyers rejected the authority of the Lombard Book of Fiefs. However, during the course of their investigations, and based in part on the assumptions outlined above, the scholars who studied the  Libri Feudorum  formulated a view of the Middle Ages. This general picture included the idea that feudal relationships, wherein noblemen granted fiefs to free vassals in return for services, were important in medieval society because they provided social and military security at a time when  the central  government was weak or nonexistent. The idea was discussed in editions of the  Libri Feudorum  made by the legal scholars Jacques Cujas and Franà §ois Hotman, both of whom used the term  feudum  to indicate an arrangement involving a  fief. It didnt take long for other scholars to see some value in the works of Cujas and Hotman and apply the ideas to their own studies. Before the 16th century was over, two Scottish lawyers- Thomas Craig and Thomas Smith- were using feudum in their classifications of Scottish  lands and their tenure. It was apparently Craig who first expressed the idea of feudal arrangements as a hierarchical  system;  moreover, it was  a  system that was imposed on nobles and their subordinates by their monarch as a matter of policy.  In the 17th century,  Henry Spelman, a noted English antiquarian, adopted this viewpoint for English legal history, as well. Although Spelman never used the word feudalism, either, his work went a long way toward creating an -ism from the handful of ideas over which Cujas and Hotman had theorized. Not only did Spelman maintain, as Craig had done, that feudal arrangements were part of a system, but he related the English feudal heritage with that of Europe, indicating that feudal arrangements were characteristic of medieval society as a whole. Spelman wrote with authority, and his hypothesis was happily accepted as fact by scholars who saw it as a sensible explanation of medieval social and property relations. Over the next several decades, scholars explored and debated feudal ideas. They expanded the meaning of the term from legal matters and adapted it to other aspects of medieval society. They argued over the origins of feudal arrangements and expounded on the various levels of  subinfeudation. They incorporated manorialism and applied it to the agricultural economy. They envisioned a complete system of feudal agreements that ran throughout all of Britain and Europe. What they did  not  do was challenge Craigs or Spelmans interpretation of the works of Cujas and Hotman, nor did they question the conclusions that Cujas and Hotman had drawn from the  Libri Feudorum. From the vantage point of the 21st century, its easy to ask why the facts were overlooked in favor of the theory. Present-day historians  engage in  a rigorous  examination of the evidence and clearly identify a theory as a theory (at least, the good ones do). Why didnt 16th- and 17th-century scholars do the same? The simple answer is that history as a scholarly field has evolved over time; and in the 17th century, the academic discipline of  historical  evaluation was in its infancy. Historians did not yet have the tools- both physical and figurative- we take for granted today, nor did they have the example of scientific methods from other fields to look to and incorporate into their own learning processes. Besides, having a straightforward model by which to view the Middle Ages gave scholars the sense that they understood the time period. Medieval society becomes so much easier to evaluate and comprehend if it can be labeled and fit into a simple organizational structure. By the end of the 18th century, the term feudal system was in use among historians, and by the middle of the 19th century, feudalism had become a fairly well-fleshed out model, or construct, of medieval government and society. The idea spread beyond the cloistered halls of academia. Feudalism became a buzzword for any oppressive, backward, hidebound system of government. In the  French Revolution, the feudal regime was abolished by the  National Assembly, and in Karl Marxs  Communist Manifesto,  feudalism was the oppressive, agrarian-based economic system that preceded the inequitable, industrialized, capitalist economy. With such far-ranging appearances in both academic and mainstream usage, it would be an extraordinary challenge to break free of what was, essentially, a wrong impression. In the late 19th century, the field of medieval studies began to evolve into a serious discipline. No longer did the average historian accept as fact everything that had been written by his predecessors and repeat it as a matter of course. Scholars of the medieval era began to question interpretations of the evidence, and they began to question the evidence, as well. This was by no means a swift process. The medieval era was still the bastard child of historical study; a dark age of ignorance, superstition, and  brutality; a thousand years without a bath.  Medieval historians had a great deal of prejudice, fanciful inventions and misinformation to overcome, and there was no concerted effort to shake things up and reexamine every theory ever floated in the study of the Middle Ages. And feudalism had become so entrenched in our view of the time period, it wasnt an obvious choice of target to overturn. Even once historians began to recognize the system as a post-medieval construct, the validity of the construct wasnt questioned. As early as 1887,  F. W. Maitland  observed in a lecture on English constitutional history that we do not hear of a feudal system until feudalism ceased to exist.  He examined in detail what feudalism supposedly was and discussed how it could be applied to English medieval law, but never did he question its very existence. Maitland was a well-respected scholar, and much of his work is still enlightening and useful today. If such an esteemed historian treated feudalism as a legitimate system of law and government, why should anyone think to question him? For a long time, nobody did. Most medievalists continued in Maitlands vein, acknowledging that the word was a construct, and an imperfect one at that, yet going forward with articles, lectures, treatises and entire books on what exactly feudalism had been; or, at the very least, incorporating it into related topics as an accepted fact of the medieval era. Each historian presented his own interpretation of the model- even those claiming to adhere to a previous interpretation deviated from it in some significant way. The result was an unfortunate number of varying and even conflicting definitions of feudalism. As the 20th century progressed, the discipline of history grew more rigorous. Scholars uncovered new evidence, examined it closely, and used it to modify or explain their view of feudalism. Their methods were sound, as far as they went, but their premise was problematic: they were trying to  adapt  a deeply flawed theory to such a wide variety of facts. Although several historians  expressed concerns over the indefinite nature of the well-worn model and the terms many imprecise meanings, it wasnt until 1974 that anyone thought to stand up and point out the most basic, fundamental problems with feudalism. In a ground-breaking article entitled The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe,  Elizabeth A. R. Brown  leveled an unwavering finger at the academic community and roundly denounced the term feudalism and its continued use. Clearly,  feudalism was a construct that was developed  after  the Middle Ages, Brown maintained, and the system it described bore little resemblance to actual medieval society. Its many differing, even contradictory definitions had so muddied the waters that it had lost any useful meaning. The construct was actually interfering with the proper examination of evidence concerning medieval law and society; scholars viewed land agreements and social relationships through the warped lens of the feudalism construct, and either disregarded or dismissed anything that didnt fit into their chosen version of the model. Brown asserted  that  considering how difficult it is to unlearn what one has learned, to continue to include feudalism in introductory texts would do readers of those texts a grave injustice. Browns article was very well-received in academic circles. Virtually no American or British medievalists objected to any part of it, and almost everyone who read it agreed: Feudalism was not a useful term, and really should go. Yet, feudalism stuck around. There were improvements. Some new publications in medieval studies avoided using the term altogether; others used it only  sparingly,  and focused on actual laws, land tenures, and legal agreements instead of on the model. Some books on medieval society refrained from characterizing that society as feudal. Others, while acknowledging that the term was in dispute, continued to use it as a useful shorthand for lack of a better term, but only as far as it was necessary. But there were still authors that included descriptions of feudalism as a valid model of medieval society with little or no caveat. Why? For one thing, not  every  medievalist had read Browns  article,  or had a chance to consider its implications or discuss it with his colleagues. For another, revising work that had been conducted on the premise that feudalism was a valid construct would require the kind of reassessment that few historians were prepared to engage in, especially when deadlines were drawing near. Perhaps most significantly, no one had presented a reasonable model or explanation to use in place of feudalism. Some historians and authors felt they had to provide their readers with a handle by which to grasp the general ideas of medieval government and society. If not feudalism, then what? Yes, the emperor had no clothes; but for now, he would just have to run around naked.

Critically discuss the empirical evidence that there are sex Essay

Critically discuss the empirical evidence that there are sex differences in intelligence - Essay Example There are facts proving that such an inequality results in economic stagnation connected with decreasing labour productivity. (Appold, S. et. al., 1998, np) Gender inequality actualises also other, non-economical problems of poverty: lack of security, rights, resources and opportunities. In fact, there are no â€Å"gender neutral† phenomena in any sphere of social life: any change in it tells substantially upon the status of citizens (both women and men) in the society, and that is why many social phenomena have been studied nowadays taking into account their gender aspect. When speaking about the inequality of genders in any county, we usually mean the violation of women’s rights. Sandra Bem is sure that in the modern society with its patriarchal culture domination, women have constantly been oppressed, as well as a sexual minority, and it makes sexism related to heterosexism. (cited from: Lott, 1994, np) There has been a lot of research in psychology concerning the issue of gender inequality. Gender psychology aims at explaining the inequality of genders not as the result of biological differences between sexes but analysing different social, cultural and economic factors. Moreover, gender sociology states that the personality of any woman is precious in itself, and women have all the right to choose their own life paths, either accepting or breaking traditional stereotypes. Women being considered inferior to males has many facets: from the inequality of salaries and unequal division of family duties to violence, pornography, lack of political rights, etc. The modern society is still of patriarchal character, therefore this issue is topical, and a lot of factors contribute to it, from cultural beliefs and traditions to scholarly theories that claim that there are sex differences in intelligence, and therefore women should only perform particular duties in the society and are not welcome to do anything that is historically attributed to