The Marxist Perspective on Crime Essays

The Marxist Perspective on Crime Essays The Marxist Perspective on Crime Paper The Marxist Perspective on Crime Paper In sociology, deviance refers to behaviours or actions which are considered abnormal and undesirable; in other words, they contravene cultural/social norms (for example swearing in public). At a certain point in time, a society may decide that some specific acts are so undesirable that they warrant punishment. When laws are passed against deviant acts, they become crimes (for example murder). In this essay, I will look at the Marxist perspective and how it has contributed to the study and understanding of crime and deviance. Whilst Functionalism is a perspective based on value consensus, Marxism holds at its core the theory of conflict and class struggle in society. According to Marx, there is a fundamental division between what he sees are the two classes of society: the capitalists (or bourgeoisie), who own the means of production (e. g. oney, property, raw materials capital) and the working-class, who do not own capital. From a Marxist point of view, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie hold conflicting positions for example, factory workers will inevitably wish for high wages, whilst factory owners will want to maximise their profits by paying workers as little as possible. Marxist criminology is based around the view that crime is a product of the fundamental class conflict in capitalist societies. Marxists argue that the structural-conflict model of capitalism systematically generates crime by holding at its centre severe social inequalities whilst encouraging people to strive for monetary success. The nature of the system is competitive, promoting personal gain rather than collective well-being; it often leads to the exploitation of millions for the profit of a few. Right across the social spectrum, people are persuaded of the importance of material possessions through adverts of the latest fashion item and through the medias portrayal of exclusive lifestyles. Echoing Mertons strain theory, Marxists argue that those with barriers to success, from the businessman to the factory worker, are pressured to break the law in order to achieve the material desires which capitalism encourages. Marxs theory of alienation can be applied to those crimes which have no apparent financial gain, explaining them as an expression of the frustration produced by demeaning and unsatisfying work. For those who are most affected by the systems unequal distribution of wealth, crime can be seen simply as a means for survival. According to Marxists, the state passes laws which protect the interests and reflect the ideology of the ruling class the many laws which protect private property, the essence of capitalism, reflect the expansion of business and trade. They argue that laws which appear to be in the interest of the subject class are in fact just concessions and are there to create a false consciousness, an illusion of equality; they are in place to maintain the power of the ruling class and to keep the subject class under control. From a Marxist point of view, there is a systematic bias in favour of those at the top, and this is evident when looking at how laws are enforced. White-collar crimes, such as corporate/financial frauds, are rarely discovered and even more rarely prosecuted, despite the fact that they can have devastating effects; on the other hand, more visible street crimes are severely punished by the agents of social control. Moreover, people have unequal access to a fair trial having the money to pay for a good lawyer can mean the difference between being found guilty or not guilty. In this light, Marxists play down the significance of official statistics, which predominantly record blue-collar crimes, claiming that they are a social construction and that they do not reflect the truth. Radical criminology, a strand of neo-Marxism, developed in the 1970s through the work of Ian Taylor, Paul Walton and Jock Young as an alternative perspective to traditional Marxist criminology. Like traditional Marxists, they see the economy as the most important part of society and they believe that the inequalities in wealth and power between individuals in capitalist societies are the root cause of crime. However, unlike Marxists, they reject theories suggesting that external forces can direct human behaviour (for example the strain to anomie). Taylor et al insist that crimes are often deliberate acts with political motives, and that deviants are not just the passive victims of capitalism, but that they are actively fighting and trying to alter capitalism. By looking at the states role in the process of criminalisation, radical criminology draws both on Marxism and Interactionism in an attempt to produce a fully social theory of deviance. However, it has been criticised for failing to provide any substantial theories of crime and for offering a utopian socialist model as an alternative to capitalism. New left realism developed in the early 1980s both to compensate for some of the weaknesses of previous Marxist and neo-Marxist theories and to respond to a rise in zero tolerance right-wing policies. Left realists differentiate themselves from Marxists and left idealists by emphasising the significance of working-class street crime and by studying its effect on its victims. John Lea and Jock Young point to evidence from the British Crime Survey that there has been a massive increase in street crime since the Second World War. Whilst agreeing that crime is closely linked to deprivation, they reject the view that poverty is directly responsible for crime, arguing that unemployment levels in the 1930s were high, yet the crime rate was low compared to the 1980s. Their explanation of crime is based around the concepts of relative deprivation, subculture and marginalisation. According to Lea and Young, deprivation leads to crime when experienced as relative deprivation. When one feels deprived compared to someone else, they may use illegal means to feel less disadvantaged. As well as explaining property and financial crime, relative deprivation can be used to explain violent crime: relative deprivation can create frustration and aggression. The concept of subculture is explained by Lea and Young as a collective response to a groups problem. If a group sufferers from relative deprivation, it may adopt a lifestyle which to cope with their problem, either illegally or legally. The concept of marginalisation refers to groups at the margins of society, those without socio-political representation and clearly defined objectives. Typically, unemployed youths of minority ethnic groups resort to crime as an expression of their resentment to a society which doesnt offer them anything. Essentially, left realism is criticised for failing to explain the causes of crime it relies extensively on victimisation statistics and only takes into account the views of victims on certain issues. Also, left realism fails to explain why some people who suffer from relative deprivation commit crime and others do not. However, it has highlighted the importance of understanding street crime and has influenced crime tackling policies. The traditional Marxist perspective on crime has been essential in illustrating the many flaws of capitalism and pointing out that crime is not exclusively a working class phenomenon. In many respects, however, it has a rather simplistic view on the relations of power in capitalist societies. Moreover, it is in large part race and gender blind, and it emphasises the significance of corporate crime at the expense of other crimes. Most importantly of all, perhaps, it wrongly assumes that a communist system would eliminate crime. Despite these criticisms, Marxism has produced a basis for the understanding of crime and has influenced numerous new approaches which further enrich the study of crime and deviance.

Market Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Market Strategy - Essay Example Hence, while opting for a large scale expansion in China, the company was quiet confident that its traditional organizational structure comprising of well laid out stores backed by time tested retailing concepts and culture would work well in China (Pogoda, 1994). However, Wal-Mart soon realized that the Chinese customers required different sort of merchandize and goods. Therefore, to understand the local markets, the company decided to get actively involved with the local communities and started opting for local suppliers (Taylor, 2009). This strategy of retaining the traditional organizational structure, with localized procurement worked wonders for Wal-Mart in China. Just like Wal-Mart, when McDonalds decided to go global in the 90s, the company was confident that its well-calibrated organizational approach of offering franchises at the local level would work well in the foreign markets also. Luckily, for McDonalds, the things worked well as was expected and its brand of fast food soon became a rage in the New Markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa. However, this does not mean that McDonalds simply transplanted it US based organizational structure in the foreign markets. The company was well aware that food is always about flavors, which differ from place to place and people to people. Therefore, the company not only adapted its distribution strategies and packaging as per the local preferences, but also customized its products to suit the local tastes. For example, McDonalds offers Halal fast food in the Gulf and beer in Germany (McDonalds, 2005). From the very start, Skype succeeded in establishing itself as the most popular voice communication service around the world. The company conducted its business through it internet portal. However, it was not long that Skype realized that the emerging new trends and developments in the digital technology would make it literally obsolete, if it fails to customize and adapt to the novel digital

Diffrence between ABC costing and the Time Driven ABC costing (HBR) Article

Diffrence between ABC costing and the Time Driven ABC costing (HBR) - Article Example Time Driven ABC was proposed by Robert S. Kaplan and Steven R. Anderson, in 2004. Although ABC had been a trend setter in guiding companies and organizations, still it was unable to keep pace with the ever expanding production lines of companies. Time driven ABC is actually a simplification of the ABC methodology (Kaplan & Bruns). Time Driven ABC requires only the estimation of the practical capacity of resources and the time required for transactional activities. Where ABC does not account for the unused capacity in the organization, Time Driven ABC accounts for the unused capacities, thus opening avenues for the allocation of these capacities to new products or cutting them down. It is easier to maintain and gather the data through this model, as the work force required is far less and also the gathering of the data does not require the employees to be surveyed. The manager can allocate the time for an activity based n his professional observation rather than subjective accounts of the employees. It is easier to calculate and validate as compared to the traditional ABC. The data can also be easily updated. The Time driven ABC method allows for the incorporation of a wide variety of elements in the time equation. It is able to cope with more than just a local department with limited number of activities. It also reduces chances of budget slack, created by withholding of private information held by

Analysis of the Odyssey book 11 Essay Example for Free

Analysis of the Odyssey book 11 Essay 1) Odysseus travels to the Underworld and makes the offerings according to Circes instructions and takes even more instructions from Teiresias on how to get home to Ithaca. 2) Many many of the dead wish to talk to Odysseus (especially his mother), and he needs to draw his sword to keep them away. 3) Odysseus becomes frightened and goes back to his ship immediately, and sails on to Ithaca. Two quotes: 1) â€Å"But you, Achilles,there’s not a man in the world more blest than you—there never has been, never will be one. Time was, when you were alive, we Argives honored you as a god, and now down here, I see,you lord it over the dead in all your power.So grieve no more at dying, great Achilles.† I reassured the ghost, but he broke out, protesting,â€Å"No winning words about death to me, shining Odysseus! By god, I’d rather slave on earth for another man—some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to keep alive—than rule down here over all the breathless dead.† I chose this quote because it shows a conversation in which each man thinks about life on the other side. They both seem to find that the other world is better than the one in which they inhabit. 2) Here Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims, while I drew my sword and dug the trench a cubit each way. I made a drink-offering to all the dead, first with honey and milk, then with wine, and thirdly with water, and I sprinkled white barley meal over the whole, praying earnestly to the poor feckless ghosts, and promising them that when I got back to Ithaca I would sacrifice a barren heifer for them, the best I had, and would load the pyre with good things.† This quote shows both how precise Odysseus conducts this procedure and also how much he wishes this opportunity to work out. I can see how much he wants to be able to talk to Teiresias so he makes sure to do this offering entirely correct. Genuine Question: Why does Odysseus feel so frightened when he is at the Underworld? Odysseus could be frightened for many reasons. He could be afraid of being mobbed by the group that surround him in the Underworld. Odysseus could also be scared of any other things spoiling his chances of getting home to Ithaca.

The Author to Her Book :: essays research papers

The Author to Her Book In â€Å"The Author to Her Book,† Anne Bradstreet explains how she felt when her poems were published without her knowledge and consent. She explains these feelings of resentment, humiliation, pride, affection, and commitment with the use of many poetic devices. She frequently experiences an internal struggle. Bradstreet uses extended metaphor throughout the poem to express her unhappiness with the publishing of her poems. The use of this metaphor helps us to relate emotionally to her. Line one shows how Bradstreet views her own creation as her own child. She uses apostrophe and personification to express to us how her works were taken away and published without her perfecting them first. In the line â€Å"At thy return my blushing was not small,† Bradstreet declares her embarrassment. She then uses another metaphor in line eight to express again her pain â€Å"My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.† Her words seem to be harsh, but they are written with good cause. Bradstreet is trying to show more clearly her pain, relating her feelings of embarrassment to the embarrassment a parent of a misbehaving child may feel. This poem is written in iambic pentameter and the rhyme pattern is heroic couplet. For example, in line eight she uses the iambic pentameter to stress th e relationship of the child and the book. She uses a simile in line nine to communicate her feeling of objection to the poems. She does not see them fit for publishing. Although she is disappointed, she cannot turn her back on them. Just as a mother would not turn her back on her own child. Bradstreet uses personification in lines thirteen through fifteen when she speaks of her poems as if they had a face. She explains that she would fix things if she could. She speaks of â€Å"rubbing off a spot† or erasing a mistake. Bradstreet also tells of adjusting the meter in her poem when she says â€Å"stretched thy joints to make thee even feet.† In line nineteen Bradstreet uses consonance â€Å"mongst vulgars may’st thou roam.† She uses this consonance to stress how she is about to finally let go.

Bite Mark Analysis

Criminal cases many times call for the examination of evidence that can tie a suspect or victim to a crime scene or to one another. These physical traces frequently include blood and other bodily fluids, hair, fibers, and even bite marks. Here we will focus our attention to the latter and its accuracy, as it applies to the field of forensic science referred to forensic odontology or forensic dentistry. Forensic odontology is the field of forensic science dealing with the recognition of unique attributes present in each individual's dental composition. 1] This branch of forensics relies heavily on extensive and detailed knowledge of the teeth, jaws, and dental anatomy possessed by a dentist. In addition to this knowledge, the forensic dentist must be well-versed in the interpretations of radiographs, pathology, charting, and types of dental treatment. The forensic dentist is dutifully responsible for the proper handling, assessment, and evaluation of dental evidence in the name of jus tice. The dentist is the key to identification based upon the distinctive features present in the dental structures of each individual. Identification of deceased individuals who cannot be identified by other means, identification of human remains, identification of victims in mass fatalities, assessment of bite mark patterns, and age estimation using teeth are all part of the role of forensic odontologists as well. [2] Identification of an assailant by comparing a record of their dentition with a record of a bite mark left on a victim and the presentation of bite mark evidence in court as an expert witness are also done as part of the job. Bite mark comparison is one of the major and newer parts of this forensic discipline that has been evolving since the 1970s and has played a major role in many cases and the convictions of many criminal including the infamous Ted Bundy who was convicted solely on evidence of a bite mark analysis. However, recently, there has been a lot of debating around the accuracy of a bite mark comparisons and if it can truly assist in accurately identifying suspect as the biter in an attack. For example, in 1991 Ray Krone, a former letter carrier without a criminal record, honorably discharged from the U. S. Air Force was charged with taking the life of a Phoenix cocktail waitress, Kim Ancona. A body examination revealed that she had been stabbed eleven times and bitten on the left breast and on her neck. Forensic evidence, or lack of it, indicated that there were no fingerprints and other bodily fluids although there was indication that she had been sexually assaulted. There was little evidence that tied Krone to the crime except for evidence of the bite mark on the victim's breast, which a state forensic odontologist, Dr. Raymond Rawosn, said matched his very distinct teeth. The bite mark testimony of Dr. Rawson convinced the jury that Krone was guilty and he was convicted. [3] During the time of prosecution, forensic DNA technology was not generally available, but once it was, Ray Krone was proved innocent of the crime. A DNA test not only established that he was not involved in the fatal stabbing, but that also identified the true perpetrator – a person already incarcerated on another unrelated offense. After being cleared by DNA, Ray Krone walked out of the Arizona State Penitentiary at Yuma on April 8, 2002, a free man. 4] In another case, Ricky Amolsch, 38, ended up in jail for ten months over a mistake that a forensic dentist made. His girlfriend, Jane Marie Fray was gruesomely stabbed twenty-two times and an electrical cord was wrapped tightly around her neck. She was also bitten near her left ear. Amolsch was arrested, photographed and fingerprinted. The chief forensic odontologist for Wayne and Oakland Counties, Dr. Allan Warnick’s claims of a bite mark match persuaded the district judge to sign a capital warrant. The preliminary hearing relied on this evidence alone with the forensic dentist, Dr Warnick, giving a compelling testimony. Since Amolsch was not eligible for bond, he had to stay in jail until his trial, and during that time, he lost his home, his savings and his children. [5] After one of Warnick's other cases was challenged, officials re-examined Amolsch's case. Dr. John Kennedy, another forensic dentist, reviewed the case and gave a second opinion that it was someone else, not Amolsch, who had bitten Fray's face. Two other forensic dentists agreed and Amolsch was released from jail. It is true that a human bite mark inflicted by an attacker on the skin of a victim may leave a definitive identifiable pattern that can be identified as being made by a certain set of teeth. If a suspect is apprehended his teeth are reproduced by taking impressions of the teeth and pouring plaster into the impression, thus producing a plaster model. The plaster models of his or her teeth are then put on a scanner and scanned to make a digital image. A tracing of the biting edges of the teeth is then made either using the omputer or tracings from the printed image. This tracing is then superimposed on the bite mark photo, either manually or electronically using a scanned image of the bite mark, to determine if a match can be made. [6] Bite mark analysis is based on two postulates: a) the dental characteristics of anterior teeth involved in biting are unique amongst individuals, and b) this asserted uniqueness is transferred and recorded in the injury. [7] However, some bites are force ful enough to leave a good impression, others are not. A bite might penetrate the skin, but often only leaves bruising—and sometimes the blood marks of a bruise are mistaken for the impression of a tooth. It also seems to be the case that skin gets distorted when bitten or the teeth slide during the act of biting. [8] Furthermore, the level of distortion tends to increase after the bite mark was made. A studies suggest that for the bite mark to be accurately analyzed, the body must be examined in exactly the same position it was in when the bite occurred which can be a difficult if not an impossible task to accomplish. In addition, bite mark analysis is also controversial because dental profiles are subject to change. The loss and/or chipping of teeth, or the alteration of arch configuration through a variety of procedures, such as the use of braces, is common in human populations. The onset of oral diseases such as dental caries has been shown to alter the arch and tooth configuration and must be taken into account when comparing a dental profile to the bite mark after a significant amount of time has passed since the mark was made. 9] All of these variables affect the validity of a bite mark analysis and trying to identify an biter through the uniqueness of his or her dentition. One particular case that highlighted the lack of uniqueness in bite marks involved two suspects accused of attacking a man that had sustained a bite mark injury. Two separate forensic dentists, one representing the prosecution and one the defense, were brought in to analyze the mark. They reported conflicting results. One found the mark to come from suspect A and the other said it was from suspect B. This disagreement resulted from the fact that even though the two suspects had dental features making them unique, the bite mark itself was not detailed enough to reflect them. Therefore, the mark could have reasonably come from either of the men[10]. The equivocal outcome demonstrated in the case emphasizes the difficulty in proving uniqueness. In conclusion, not all bite marks have the level of forensic value necessary to identify just one individual. Now, individual characteristic within a bite mark or in a person's dentition is a distinguishing feature, trait, or pattern. Individual dental characteristics are reported to be features that are unique to an individual variation within a defined group. The presence of worn, fractured or restored teeth is valued as unique features. If a bite mark possesses the reflection of such a feature(s), the degree of confidence in a match increases. It is actually counter-intuitive to assume enamel chips, fractures, and dental restorations are always inherently unique. The shape of human teeth is quite constant in nature and their changes over time are based on common events.

Chaos Is A Modern Science That Changed The Way Scientists...

Chaos is a modern science that has changed the way scientists look to the world. It studies the behaviour of nonlinear systems according to their initial state. We can see chaotic behaviour almost everywhere. As an example, rising of cigarette smoke behaviour seems smooth at the beginning then suddenly it breaks into wild swirls. A flag moves back and forth in a chaotic way, a dripping faucet goes from a steady pattern to a random one. Chaos appears in the behaviour of the weather, the behaviour of world economics, and the behaviour of fluid turbulence. Despite the environment of the system, the behaviour follows the same newly discovered laws. The realization of chaos theory has begun to change the way we think about the future [1]. The chaos term introduced in the field of dynamics while studying the behaviour of nonlinear system that is essentially depends on its initial condition. Strogatz in his book defined the term Chaos as a periodic long-term behaviour in a deterministic system that exhibits sensitive dependence on initial conditions [2]. Logistic equation is an example of one dimensional attractor. In order for us to study complicated phenomena we have to understand higher order attractor functions. Henon attractor is an example of two-dimensional attractor. It was introduced by a theoretical astronomer Michel Henon while he was studying stars movement in space [2]. On the other hand, Lorenz system is three-dimensional system published in the Journal ofShow MoreRelatedDiseases and Medicinal Treatments of the Tang Dynasty in Ancient China616 Words   |  3 Pages Diseases and their treatments changed and shaped the modern world. 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