Punishments

•Hanging - this is a deterrent as others who see that a person who has committed a crime has been hung, others will not wish to be treated the same and so will avoid this behaviour.

•Prison - this is public protection as it takes the criminal out of society and therefore protects its innocent members.

•Community Service - reparation as the criminal is giving something back to the community.

•Fines - this is also reparation as it's a form of pay back for the criminal.

My Opinion on the Death Penalty

It depends on the crime and depends on the situation, as everyone is different. For example if you have a mental disability it's sometimes unfair to be punished for committing a crime. It's an instant deterrent to the public but it's too easy to just kill someone rather than making the effort to reform them. Prison should be much tougher, as families of for example victims of murder will feel that they want the criminal to be tortured for the rest of their life rather than given an easy way out through a pleasant prison. Overall I believe that the death penalty should be applicable in certain situations but it depends on the circumstances.

Aims of Punishment

RETRIBUTION: This is the idea of an eye for an eye, revenge for the victim

REPARATION: This is idea that the guilty person should compensate the victim/society for his wrong-doing

PUBLIC PROTECTION: The aim of punishment is to protect the public, however unfair on an individual wrongdoer

REHABILITATION: This is the idea that punishment must aim to ensure that the guilty person can fit into society at the end of their punishment. Also seeks to ensure they understand the error in their act.

DETERRENCE: This is the idea that punishment must put the offender, and other potential offenders off reoffending

What is Crime?

 How has society’s view and the criminal law changed over time in respect of:

nPoor children who steal a loaf of bread? – Society will generally have pity as they’re young and poor.

nHomosexuality? – No longer a crime, and society accept homosexuals more.

nDrinking and driving? – Crime as it can be dangerous towards yourself and others.

nChild abuse? – More strict now than before – it’s not illegal to give your child a smack but it’s not seen as socially acceptable.

 

 How do different societies view the following?

nCarrying of firearms? – It’s acceptable for police in most societies however not for normal people in places like the UK. Where as in the USA it’s seen as protection of yourself.

nWomen wearing what they like in public? – In the UK it’s seen as acceptable as everyone has different tastes, where as in countries like India this is seen as completely disrespectful to those around you.

nFreedom of expression in terms of religion? – In countries like Dubai everyone has to follow strict rules e.g. Women have to cover their bodies, fasting at certain times of the year etc. In the UK we have many different religions as we’re a multi-cultural society and so expressing your religious views is acceptable.

 

 Summary

nCrime is a deviation from the norms of a society that the state decides is an offence against it

nWhat is perceived as crime changes over time

nWhat is perceived as crime varies from place to place

nTherefore crime is socially determined, and so are its causes

 

 Social Disorganization Theory

nThis suggests that neighbourhoods plagued with poverty and economic deprivation tend to experience high rates of population turnover.

nThese neighbourhoods also tend to have high population diversity.

nWith high turnover, informal social structure often fails to develop, which in turn makes it difficult to maintain social order in a community.

Homeowners Face Flooding Misery in Leicestershire

Householders face a miserable clean-up following floods in Leicestershire, with homes swamped in sewage.

The Soar burst its banks at Barrow upon Soar, flooding Proctor's Caravan Park and forcing narrow-boat owners to leave home.

Houses in Loughborough were inundated with sewage with some residents facing the prospect of Christmas in a hotel.

The Environment Agency has just one flood warning in place in the county on the Wreake near Melton Mowbray.

Alerts remain in place on the Soar but forecasters predict a drier outlook.

"It is just horrendous - you see floods on the television but when you are in this environment it is very, very frightening and scary" - Villiage Pub Manager

Roads around the county remain closed with police and the fire service urging drivers to take care.

Dovelands Primary School, in Hinckley Road, Leicester, is closed for a second day on Tuesday because of flooding.

Residents on the Kingfisher estate in Loughborough face an uncertain future after their homes were deluged with sewage.

Law and Civil Liberties

A new law can be proposed by Parliament or any MP or Lord. Before it is approved a proposal for a new law is called a bill, which has to be presented and explained before being passed on to the House of Commons and House of Lords. The two houses will discuss and usually agree with each other on whether they should approve it or not. If it is not approved, that is the end of the bill. If they approve it, it will be passed to the Monarchy where the queen will decide if she approves of it or not (which she usually does).

Civil liberties are the idea that you have freedom of speech, freedom of religion. This means you are allowed to have your own opinion and you don't have to be pressured by Parliament or pressure groups. (Human rights).

Does the law protect or restrict?
CCTV cameras - can protect us mainly as it can be used as evidence in court cases when you have been a victim to violence, which makes criminals think twice about committing crimes if they are aware there is a camera watching them.
ASBOs - restricts devious members of public from committing offences.
Mosquito Repellers - restricts young members of public from committing ASBO worthy offences.

Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty

Cons

• Financial costs to taxpayers of capital punishment is several times more than keeping someone in prison for life.
• It is barbaric and violates the "cruel and unusual" clause in the Bill of Rights.
• The endless appeals and required additional procedures clog our court system.
• We as a society have to move away from the "eye for an eye" revenge mentality if civilization is to advance, as two wrongs don't make a right.
• It sends the wrong message: why kill people who kill people to show killing is wrong.
  

Pros

• The death penalty gives justice to the victim's families who have suffered so much.
• It creates another form of crime deterrent - others will be afraid to commit such crimes if they know that the result is death.
• Justice is better served.
• Our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims.
• It provides a deterrent for prisoners already serving a life sentence.

Religious Beliefs and Their Effects On Society

Republic - a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people) have impact on its government. e.g Ireland

Dictatorship -   Absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors. e.g Zimbabwe

Democracy-   A form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system. e.g. Spain

Absolute monarchy -  A monarchical form of government where the king and queen have absolute power over everything. e.g. Vatican

Constitutional monarchy -  A form of constitutional government, wherein either an elected or hereditary monarch is the head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy, wherein the king or the queen is the sole source of political power, as he or she is not legally bound by the national constitution. e.g. UK

Secular government- A NON RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT

Non Secular government- A RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT


Problems with a secular government:

• moral/ethical issues in society as some people may be religious.
• cause conflict.
• difficult for religious people e.g. taxes, homosexuality 

Difficulties with having more than one religion in a society:

• sharing land for places of worship.
• dieting rules
• conflict
• racism
• mixed marriages, could lead to honour killings. 

What is Sharia law?
Is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia deals with many topics addressed by secular law, including crime, politics, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, and fasting.

US Presidential Election 2012

The rivals are running almost neck-and-neck in national polls

US Presidential Election 2012

Tens of millions of Americans have begun voting to decide whether to re-elect President Barack Obama or hand the job to Republican Mitt Romney.

Polling stations have opened on the East Coast and in parts of the Midwest - a winner could be known by midnight.
The voting ends a hard-fought race that began nearly two years ago and has cost more than $2bn (£1.3bn).
Polls show the race is neck and neck, although the president holds a slender polling lead in crucial swing states.
National polls by Washington Post/ABC News and the Pew Research Centre both give Mr Obama a three-point edge over his rival.

Race to the White House

Obama

50%

Romney

47%

Poll of polls,4 November

As many as 30 million voters have already cast their ballots, with more than 30 states allowing either absentee voting or in-person early voting.

On the stroke of midnight, the first votes were cast and quickly counted in the tiny village of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire. They resulted in a tie with five votes each for Mr Obama and Mr Romney.
Polling stations will begin closing in eastern states at 19:00 EST (00:00 GMT).

Mr Obama has already voted in his adopted hometown of Chicago, becoming the first sitting presidential candidate ever to vote early. Mr Romney is expected to cast his own ballot in Belmont, Massachusetts, later on Tuesday.
The election is decided by the electoral college. Each state is given a number of electoral votes in rough proportion to its population. The candidate who wins 270 electoral votes - by prevailing in the mostly winner-take-all state contests - becomes president.

The president appeared at rallies with singer Bruce Springsteen and rapper Jay-Z. He acknowledged frustration with the still-lagging economy but told voters "our work is not done yet".

"We've come too far to turn back now," the president said in Ohio. "We've come too far to let our hearts grow faint... We'll finish what we started. We'll renew those ties that bind us together and reaffirm the spirit that makes the United States of America the greatest nation on Earth."

The Relationship Between Politics, Religion and Science

The Relationship Between Politics, Religion and Science

Jimmy Saville Investigation

The emails sent about the Jimmy Saville investigation

25 NOV 2011 Email, Peter Rippon to Newsnight team when told police had investigated child abuse allegations involving Jimmy Savile in 2007: "Excellent, we can then pull together the tx plan." (Tx stands for transmission).

29 NOV Email, BBC Impact Team to Peter Rippon: "A huge amount of interest" and that "all domestic outlets would want to run it."

30 NOV Email, Peter Rippon to Meirion Jones: "Having pondered this overnight I think the key is whether we can establish the CPS did drop the case for the reasons the women say. That makes it a better story – our sources so far are just the women and a second–hand briefing."

30 NOV Email, Liz MacKean to an unnamed friend: "PR [Peter Rippon] says if the bosses aren't happy ... [he] can't go to the wall on this one."


1 DEC Email, Peter Rippon to Meirion Jones: "I think we should stop working on the other elements ... because we don't really have a strong enough story without it. I'll pull editing now."


2 DEC Head of news Helen Boaden tells George Entwistle at an awards lunch that if the Newsnight programme goes ahead he might have to change the Christmas schedules, which include a handful of Savile tribute programmes.


7 DEC Email, Meirion Jones to Peter Rippon. He insists "the story is strong enough" and the danger of not running it is "substantial damage to BBC reputation".


9 DEC The Crown Prosecution Service tells Newsnight it did not investigate Savile because of lack of evidence. Rippon axes Newsnight item on Savile.


2 OCT 2012 Blog, Peter Rippon, BBC News website. Mr Rippon says on his blog that all the women spoken to by Newsnight had gone to the police already and that no new information had been uncovered by the investigation. Both points are denied by Meirion Jones in the Panorama programme.


5 OCT 2012 Email, George Entwistle to all BBC staff: "The BBC Newsnight programme investigated Surrey Police's inquiry into Jimmy Savile towards the end of 2011."


5 OCT Email, Meirion Jones to George Entwistle: "George – one note – the investigation was into whether Jimmy Savile was a paedophile – I know because it was my investigation. We didn't know that Surrey police had investigated Jimmy Savile – no one did – that was what we found when we investigated and interviewed his victims."

Human Waste Used As Renewable Energy

Human Waste Used as Renewable Energy

Definitions from Exam Paper

Fact: something that actually exists; reality/the truth
Opinion: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge
Prediction: to state, tell about, or make known in advance, especially on the basis of special knowledge
Anology: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification
Deduction: begins with a generalization. Predictions are made based on the generalization, and those predictions are challenged
Induction: involves gathering together a collection of bits of data - observations, experimental results, whatever kinds of information are available - and formulating a generalization which reasonably explains all of them

Nuclear Power - is it good or bad?

I think that nuclear power is a bad thing. I believe this as nuclear power can cause cancer in some people due to the radio active pollution in the atmosphere. However it's good that it doesn't rely on the use of materials to generate power.

April Jones: Mark Bridger sobs in court during murder hearing

Murder suspect Mark Bridger sobbed in the dock today as he was accused of the murder of April Jones.

 

Mark Bridger sobbed in court as he was charged with the abduction and murder of missing five-year-old April Jones.

A huge police cordon held back up to 100 people outside who shouted abuse and threw bottles at a van carrying Bridger to court.

 
^{Police officers hold back members of the public as a prison van transports Mark Bridger from Aberystwyth Magistrates Court in Mid Wales (Reuters)}

The van carrying Bridger, 46, was escorted by three police cars as officers struggled to hold back the crowd.

As the van was driven past the crowd they shouted a hail of abuse.

April's godmother Mair Raftree was standing in the crowd - she burst into tears as soon as the van passed her.
She was comforted by friends and Police Superintendent Ian John.
The crowd braved the rain to see Bridger brought into court, many of them wearing pink ribbons in support of five-year-old April's family.
Inside a packed court room at Aberystwyth magistrates court watched as Bridger was led in to answer to charges of murder, child abduction and perverting the course of justice.
 
^{April Jones}
Bridger - dressed all in black with a close shaved head and goatee beard - spoke only to confirm his name.
He was openly sobbing as the charges against him were read out.
The hearing, in front of three magistrates, last only lasted two minutes before he was led away again - remanded in custody to appear in Caernarfon Crown Court on Wednesday.
Outside court, family friend Dilwyn Jones, 67, said: "I have come down here today because we want to know where April is.
"That is all the community want to know."
Guest house worker Sophie Francis, 18, added: "It's not been the same since April was taken.
"No one feels safe, no one takes any risks anymore, you don't see kids playing about as much as you use to.
"It's just shocked us all."
Bridger was arrested on Tuesday - a day after the schoolgirl, who has not been found, disappeared in her home town of Machynlleth, Powys.
A total of 100 police officers remain involved in the search for April.

Fashion and feminism are not mutually exclusive - Guardian

 

Yes the world of fashion fulfils many of the stereotypes, but I am both a model and a feminist and I'm not the only one

Surviving fashion week as a feminist and a model is no small task. Often the only thing potentially lower than your self-esteem is your blood sugar, as you literally run around London, or Paris, or whatever city you are in.

It is physically and mentally draining, politically confusing and incestuous. With a myriad of stereotypes populating the media as to what models do and therefore are; maintaining an identity as a recent graduate who models to pay the rent, rather than just "a model", is a fine line to tread.
Everyone has their own impression as what fashion week might be like for the models and it tends to fall into two main categories: the cocaine-riddled, fur-clad, sunglasses-wearing (even when its raining) deities who float from car to show; or the starving Latvian teenager who fights her way through the cattle market with minimal English. There is definitely sufficient fuel for the stereotype fire, but fashion week for most models is a particularly subjective experience. It changes from city to city, season to season, and from girl to girl, so this is a riot grrrl's attempt at explaining fashion weeks and tentatively suggesting that fashion and feminism are not mutually exclusive.
London fashion week actually starts in August for those of us women with hips who "need"' to start exercising. This brings us to the huge and complicated issue of weight. Damn. Years of modelling has led to years of being accused of sustaining myself with cocaine and apples, which is both boring and untrue. Why and how models are thin and who makes them so is far too big an issue to deal with here. Body prescriptivism aside, I exercised a bit more in the run-up to fashion week because it made me feel more confident about being examined like a bit of meat. In general I seem to spend a lot of time justifying my existence as a "real" woman, (thanks to Dove and "Colleen's real women") so the next person who tells me that there are no "real" people/feminists on the runways, I will shout at. I am a real person, I eat real food, read real books and play real (bad) guitar. Cogito ergo sum, bitch.
There is a lot of rejection. Obviously, no one is defined by how they look, nor should they be, but after a few days of brutality, subject to the whims of some body fascist or sour-faced woman, it can be hard to separate how you look from who you are. However, I am going to take this opportunity to smash my tiny violin: there are some really awesome casting directors and stylists in London who treat you as a person and give you chocolate and/or coconut water when you go to their castings.

Genetic Modification

The manipulation of the genetic material of an organism to produce desired traits, such as nutritional quality, photosynthetic efficiency and herbicide resistance.

Nuclear Fission

A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus (such as uranium) splits into two lighter nuclei (and possible some other radioactive particles as well).

Nuclear Fusion

A nuclear reaction in which two light nuclei (such as hydrogen) combine to form a heavier nuclei (such as helium).

Authority

The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution refers to historical changes in thought and belief, to changes in social and institutional organization, that unfolded in Europe between roughly 1550-1700; beginning with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), and ended with Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

General Studies Powerpoint