Reasons Youth Join Gangs Essay -- Why Young People Join Gangs

Deviance in Gang Involvement Reasons Youth Join Gangs The problem of gang activity is not a new one facing our country. Ever since the beginnings of human existence gangs have served as a means of protection for humans. The issue of gang activity has recently, however, come to the forefront of dilemmas facing our nation. While cities like Chicago and Los Angeles are chronic gang sites, other cities such as â€Å"Miami, Portland, Columbus, Dallas, and Milwaukee have only recently (within the last decade) had what they termed as a gang problem† (Conly 7). Gang numbers have, without question, skyrocketed over the past 10 to 20 years. Los Angeles, for example, has recently been estimated to have as many as 90,000 gang members (Conly 14). The importance of these numbers cannot be overlooked. However, to fully understand the problems that gangs may pose to society, the term gang must be defined. Without a definition the impact of gang maliciousness on society may be lost. Throughout its history the term â€Å"gang† has possessed a diverse usage, being linked to outlaws in the â€Å"wild west† and organized crime groups among others (Decker and Van Winkle 2). Due to this, a clear-cut definition of a gang does not exist. However, most agree that a gang is a group of mostly males that engages in delinquent activities. However, the definition goes much further than that. A police officer, for example, may call a gang â€Å"an on-going, organized association of three or more persons who individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in criminal activity† (Conly 5). Notwithstanding, this definition is terribly obscure. That definition could include a group of boys who occasionally drink alcohol. On the other hand it could also includ... ...bliography: Conly, Catherine H., et al. Street Gangs: Current Knowledge and Strategies. Washington: Dept. of Justice. Office of Justice Programs and National institute of Justice, 1993. Decker, Scott H., and Berik Van Winkle. Life in the Gang: Family Friends and Violence. New York: Cambridge Up, 1996. Dickersen, Debra. â€Å"Cease Fire in Simple City.† U.S. News and World Report 16 Mar. 1998: 22-25. Korem, Dan. Suburban Gangs: The Affluent Rebels. Texas: International Focus Press, 1994. Sanders, William B. Gangbangs and Drivebys: Grounded Culture and Juvenile Gang Violence. New York: Walter de Gruyter Inc, 1994. Spergel, Irving A. The youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. New York: Oxford Up, 1995. Trump, K. S. Youth Gangs and School: The Need for Intervention and Prevention Strategies. Cleveland: Urban Child Research Center, 1993.

Clear Channels Grip on College Radio Essay -- Media

Clear Channel Communications, owner of 1,200 stations across the United States, has been undermining the values of diversity, localism, and market completion within the music industry since the media policy wars in the early 2000s. Since then, the radio industry arguably has lost a significant amount of the authenticity it once had. The only exception is college radio: the last safe haven for musical integrity. The only facet of radio not owned and controlled by a major monopoly. Recently, however, Clear Channel has gone to bed with college radio stations across the country. Although the corporate monopoly has shut out authenticity and artistic integrity from the mainstream, they still want more in order to completely wipe out independent music. The 1996 Telecommunications Act was the first major overhaul of telecom policy since the Communications Act of 1934; it covered everything from radio, television to cable TV (Garofalo, 440). The act removed the restrictions on the number of radio stations any one company could own, which accelerated the trend of a small number of companies owning the vast majority of stations. Clear Channel was a primary beneficiary. In 1995, Clear Channel owned 43 stations. By the early 2000s, it owned over 1,200 stations, which took in 20 percent of the industry revenues in 2001. In addition, Clear Channel owned over 700,000 billboards; it controlled 65 percent of the U.S. concert business; and it posted total revenues exceeding $8 billion (Garafalo, 440). Four companies controlled 90 percent of radio and revenue in the early 2000s. Serious implications for programming occurred due to the level of ownership concentration. According to Garafolo, â€Å"In one week, the forty top modern-rock stations ad... ...trick to profit. Clear Channel has taken major college stations to bed, and it’s not a gentle lover. Thus, local stations must not be lured by Clear Chanel’s diabolical plan. Instead, the stations must look the corporate villain into their deceiving eyes, and inform them that their conglomerating ways will not be tolerated; we must preserve the last refuge of music programming and expression on the radio airwaves. Works Cited (MLA) Garofalo, Reebee. Rockin Out: Popular Music in America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2010. 439-40. Print. Kirkpatrick, Bill. "On Radio: Strange Bedfellows." Antenna. 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Waits, Jennifer C. "Does ‘indie’ Mean Independence? Freedom and Restraint in a Late 1990s US College Radio Community." The Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media 5.2&3 (2008): 83-96. Print.

Freedom and Reason In Kant Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Freedom and Reason in Kant Morality, Kant says, cannot be regarded as a set of rules which prescribe the means necessary to the achievement of a given end; its rules must be obeyed without consideration of the consequences that will follow from doing so or not. A principle that presupposes a desired object as the determinant of the will cannot give rise to a moral law; that is, the morality of an act of will cannot be determined by the matter or content of the will for when the will is materially determined the question of its morality does not arise. This consideration leads Kant to one of his most important theses. If the moral character of willing is not determined by the content of what is willed, it must be determined by the form:" If a rational being can think of his maxims as universal laws, he can do so only by considering them as principles which contain the determining ground of the will because of their form and not because of their matter". Therefore, the morality of a maxim is determined by its functioning as a universal law, applicable as a general rule to every rational agent. Since a moral will must be so in virtue of its form alone, the will must be capable of a purely formal determination; that is, it must be possible for a man to act in a certain way for the sole reason that willing in this way is prescribed by a universal law, no matter what the empirical results will be. A will to which moral considerations apply must be, in the strictest sense, a free will, one that can function independently of the laws of natural causality. The concept of morality, therefore, has to be explained in terms of a universal moral law, and the ability to will in obedience to such a law leads us to postulate the freedom. The freedom which Kant is talking about, is not only a negative freedom consisting in the absence of constraint by empirical causes, it is also a positive freedom which consists in the ability to make acts of will in accordance with the moral law, for no other reason than that they are in accordance with it. Freedom, in this sense, corresponds to Autonomy of the will and its absence ( any situation in which the will is determined by external causes ) is called Heteronomy. In obeying the moral law for the sake of the law alone, the will is autonomous because it is obeying a law which it imposes on itself. .. ...e person, as Reason, as belonging to the intellectual world, is not affected by the laws of Determinism: he is free. This is Kant's proof of Freedom. Is it satisfactory? Later on, in the "Critics of Practical Reason", Kant does not attempt to deduce synthetically Morality from Freedom, as he tried to do in the Grounding by stating that Freedom was the necessary condition for Morality, but he assumes the moral law as a "fact of the reason" from which he infers Freedom. There have been critics blaming Kant of a sort of vicious circle, because he seemed to demonstrate Freedom by means of deduction from Morality and then to show the possibility of the Categorical Imperative deducing it from Freedom. Kant answers that there is no vicious circle because in the ontological order Freedom is the condition for Morality ( it is not possible to follow the duty for the duty if you are not free), but in the order of our knowledge, the moral law is the requirement for Freedom ( we would not consider ourselves free, if we did not think of ourselves as subject to the moral law). Freedom is the ratio essendi of the moral law, but the moral law is the ratio cognoscendi of Freedom. Freedom and Reason In Kant Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays Freedom and Reason in Kant Morality, Kant says, cannot be regarded as a set of rules which prescribe the means necessary to the achievement of a given end; its rules must be obeyed without consideration of the consequences that will follow from doing so or not. A principle that presupposes a desired object as the determinant of the will cannot give rise to a moral law; that is, the morality of an act of will cannot be determined by the matter or content of the will for when the will is materially determined the question of its morality does not arise. This consideration leads Kant to one of his most important theses. If the moral character of willing is not determined by the content of what is willed, it must be determined by the form:" If a rational being can think of his maxims as universal laws, he can do so only by considering them as principles which contain the determining ground of the will because of their form and not because of their matter". Therefore, the morality of a maxim is determined by its functioning as a universal law, applicable as a general rule to every rational agent. Since a moral will must be so in virtue of its form alone, the will must be capable of a purely formal determination; that is, it must be possible for a man to act in a certain way for the sole reason that willing in this way is prescribed by a universal law, no matter what the empirical results will be. A will to which moral considerations apply must be, in the strictest sense, a free will, one that can function independently of the laws of natural causality. The concept of morality, therefore, has to be explained in terms of a universal moral law, and the ability to will in obedience to such a law leads us to postulate the freedom. The freedom which Kant is talking about, is not only a negative freedom consisting in the absence of constraint by empirical causes, it is also a positive freedom which consists in the ability to make acts of will in accordance with the moral law, for no other reason than that they are in accordance with it. Freedom, in this sense, corresponds to Autonomy of the will and its absence ( any situation in which the will is determined by external causes ) is called Heteronomy. In obeying the moral law for the sake of the law alone, the will is autonomous because it is obeying a law which it imposes on itself. .. ...e person, as Reason, as belonging to the intellectual world, is not affected by the laws of Determinism: he is free. This is Kant's proof of Freedom. Is it satisfactory? Later on, in the "Critics of Practical Reason", Kant does not attempt to deduce synthetically Morality from Freedom, as he tried to do in the Grounding by stating that Freedom was the necessary condition for Morality, but he assumes the moral law as a "fact of the reason" from which he infers Freedom. There have been critics blaming Kant of a sort of vicious circle, because he seemed to demonstrate Freedom by means of deduction from Morality and then to show the possibility of the Categorical Imperative deducing it from Freedom. Kant answers that there is no vicious circle because in the ontological order Freedom is the condition for Morality ( it is not possible to follow the duty for the duty if you are not free), but in the order of our knowledge, the moral law is the requirement for Freedom ( we would not consider ourselves free, if we did not think of ourselves as subject to the moral law). Freedom is the ratio essendi of the moral law, but the moral law is the ratio cognoscendi of Freedom.

Formative Strictly Ballroom

Texts represent certain perspectives on belonging which challenge us to understand our own world. This is evident in the film â€Å"Strictly Ballroom† directed by Baz Luhrmann. The style of the film is â€Å"Red Curtain† cinema which means conveys the ballroom dancing world is surreal and artificial. This film explores what it means to belong or not belong to a well-defined group. This is presented through the opening sequence by showing how Scott, Fran and Doug don’t belong to the group of ballroom dancers. The director grew up in the world of ballroom competitions.Luhrmann’s purpose was to be able to tell a story in his own particular way, â€Å"telling our own stories in our own way that is what the film is about for me†. The opening scenes explore aspects of not belonging and no being accepted. The ballroom dancing group demonstrates a veneer of belonging. The group itself is the same in appearance and behaviour but lacks emotional connection wi th other. They value tradition and authority. To belong to this world means sacrificing individual identity. A high angle shot is used to show the dancers competing in the competition, it also show the walls of the room they are dancing in.This represents their confinement to the outside world as well as their conformity because they are all dancing the same steps. We understand that when people conform to a group they become restricted and separated from the rest of the world. The close ups of Barry Fife and the judges sitting above the dancers shows that they have more power. This symbolises that they have authority within the ballroom dancing group and are the people that enforce the tradition of strict rules and regulations.From this we understand that when there is authority and power in a group there are rules to be followed that stop people from having an individual identity. The make-up of the women defines them as belonging to a certain group and symbolises their values, fo r example the women of the ballroom dancing wear bright and over the top coloured make-up. This represents them as being ‘fake’ due to being part of an artificial world. The idea of them all having exaggerated make-up tells us they all belong to the one group. From this we understand that to belong to certain groups you have must conform to their ways.The idea of not belonging is also conveyed in the opening sequence. This is represented through peoples’ individual choices and the exclusion of those who do not fit in. Scott Hastings is the protagonist in the film and as an individual he chooses not to belong. He chooses to dance his own steps, meaning he doesn’t conform and therefore does not belong. Scott shows rebellion in the first scenes where he challenges the authority by breaking the rules. He does this because he is looking for his own identity away from the group. The close up of Scott’s shoes when he dances show he is about to dance his ow n way.This demonstrates his desire for freedom and individual identity as well as his rebellion against a restrictive type of belonging. This gives us the understanding that when people wish to find their own identity they rebel and makes choices which can lead to exclusion. Scott’s costume is black pants and a white singlet which is what he wears when he dances his own steps. This indicates his difference to the group and the authenticity of his motivation as he attempts to create his own identity. Lighting affects the mood in the film and Scott is often shown in close ups with low key lighting which is more natural.In the scene where he dances in and out of the spotlight indicates his developing sense of independence from the group. Fran and Doug are two other characters who also do not belong to the ballroom dancing group. Fran is excluded because of her different attitudes to the others. Her costume is plain and simple. She wears a long T-shirt and black tights, large gla sses and no make-up. This is contrasted to the other women who wear a lot of bright make-up making them look false whereas Fran appears more natural and this makes her isolated from the group. Doug first appears as a dull man on the outside of the group.However, in these scenes we find out he also dances his own steps in the secrecy of the studio. He dances in the shadow and a single spotlight and quirky music which gives mystery and difference to his dancing. We are positioned to understand that not belonging can be caused by having different attitudes and values or it can be cause voluntary by not conforming to the rules. From the film’s opening sequence we learn that sometimes to belong to a group you have to lose your individual identity. If you rebel against conformity to a group it can result in isolation. You can also be excluded from a group due to different attitudes and values.

Fast Foods vs. Home Made Foods

These days, most people prefer fast food rather than home-made food. People are alike in needing food in order to survive, but they differ in choosing the kind of food they're having. Fast food and home-made food have considerable dissimilarities in preparation time, convenience, and quality. Despite the health risks that come with fast food consumption, people continue to eat it because many people have no time to select and prepare food at home. However, fast food need not be as unhealthy as its reputation. One advantage of home-made meals over fast food is its cheaper cost.However, because you also spend on seasoning, condiments and gas and electricity whenever you cook at home, the cost difference is quite possibly not as large as many believe. In addition, home-made meals generally take more time to prepare and require you to have cooking skills. On the other hand, the taste of home-made meals is generally better, because you are able to select fresh ingredients. You are also ab le to ensure the ingredients that go into your food are clean and free of contaminants. Nowadays, fast food attracts people more than home-made food does. It's known as the food that you don't have to prepare.Fast food is more common because people are always busy, and in a hurry, so they head towards fast food restaurants to save their time. For example, if a worker works for a long time and doesn't have enough time to cook a meal, (he/she) will definitely consume a fast food meal. Fast food is also common because it's convenient and people can find fast food restaurants in all places. In conclusion, both fast food and home-made food have significant divergence in preparation time, convenience and quality. Fast food might be better in saving time and being more convenient, while home-made food might be better in quality.

Complete and Utter Idiots Guide to Sending an Email Essay

This may seem like a completely impossible task, but trust me, it’s easy. An everyday completely normal task for most people, but you are not most people, are you? Well, there’s one thing you must do. We are assuming you already own a computer and have an email, so the first thing that is vital in this†¦ find your computer. I know! You have to get up, use those long things on the end of your body made for walking, and look. No†¦ that’s the telly. We are looking for something that looks like a smaller telly with a keyboard and a mouse. No, no, no! Not a real mouse! Now get down from your sofa and look for a screen. Yes, that’s it! Gosh, if it takes you this long to find your computer this is going to be a long day. Congratulations! Now, as you are looking at the computer, sit down on the chair in front of it. Sit on the seat, not the top, bottom or legs, on the actually seat. Yes, that’s a bit more comfy isn’t it? I hope your computer is in fully working order? Supposing that it is, you need to find a big button that turns your computer on. No, that opens up the CD drive. Don’t push it back in! Press the button again so you don’t break it. Oh my, look! It’s right in front of you on that big box. Woohoo! You found it, now login using your password that you thought up so you would remember it. Yes, it is the word written on the sticky note stuck to the wall above you. Now, the long oblong in front of you, that’s your keyboard. No, an oblong is another word for a rectangle†¦ a long square? Yes, the thing with the buttons. Now, press the buttons with the letters/numbers/punctuation that are identical to the ones written on your sheet. Yes, you have to write them in the same order, otherwise itswrong. Thank the lord, you’ve logged on! You’ve just achieved something in your life! Be proud, be very, very proud. The next ‘impossible’ task you have to face is finding the internet icon and using your mouse to click on it. We have already established that this is not a real mouse, so calm down. Now, your computer screen will generally look like this: This may look big and scary but it’s simple really, if you just listen. As you probably don’t know, there are different types of internet service providers. The most common one is internet explorer which is automatically downloaded onto most computers. So we will just stick with that one. The symbol is a blue E. found it? No, that’s not it†¦ yes, the blue E. Good.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam Essay

The three oldest religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Judaism is a one of the oldest religions known to people. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, which means that Jewish people pray to only one g-d. There weren’t too many religions like this when it originated which made Judaism very unique at the time. Moses was one of the most famous Jewish prophets. He led the Jewish people out of slavery, led them to Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments, a set of rules that people even today still follow. The Jews have many customs and traditions. Among them are circumcision, bar or bat mitzvah, special rituals and prayers to be said during a wedding and during death and mourning. Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the penis. The rite of circumcision is one of the most ancient practices of Judaism. Circumcision is done because of a Commandment by God to Abraham as it is written in the Torah and as a sign of commitment of Jewish people. The Torah is Judaism’s most important text. It contains the Five Books of Moses and is the source of the Ten Commandments. Bar or Bat mitzvah’ is when a child reaches the age of maturity, 13 for boys, and 12 for girls, and is ready to become an adult their community. At that age, a child becomes responsible for his actions and is obligated to observe the commandments. This ceremony is incorporated into an ordinary Sabbath service. During a Jewish wedding, the bride and groom get married under a special cloth called a â€Å"chuppah† or special canopy. Another tradition that is followed during a Jewish wedding is the breaking of a small glass at the end of the ceremony. This is to symbolize that even though this is a happy event, people should still remember the hardships that were faced before the Jewish people got to that place in time. During death and mourning, a Jewish family will sit â€Å"shiva† which is sitting in mourning for seven days after the death of a loved one. Some other customs are wearing a kippah on the head in a synagogue or wearing a tallit, a prayer shawl, while praying. Christianity is one of the world’s major monotheistic religions. Christianity takes the beliefs and practices very seriously. The central figure in Christianity is Jesus Christ. As the Son of God, he came to earth to teach about love and fellowship. He represents the person that all Christians must strive to be. Christians believe that he is the only one that ever lived on earth that can be called perfect from all worldly sins. The important thing to understand was that Jesus was God. He was here on earth to teach of God’s plan for all of humanity and to save the people of the world from their transgressions. In Christianity, God is almighty and rules over all of heaven and earth. He is the one that created the earth and one day will cast judgment over the entire earth. Christians understand that through Jesus Christ, people can be saved from this judgment. By believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God is exists in all believers, and that God is almighty in power. A person can be saved from this judgment. Christians believe in heaven and hell. Heaven is the place where believers would enjoy the presence of God and other believers and freedom from suffering and sin. Hell is where unbelievers and sinners are punished for their sins committed during the course of their lives. Baptism is one of the most important sacraments in Christianity. It involves application of or immersion in water, a blessing, and the pronouncement, â€Å"I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. † Most Christian churches baptize both infants and adults, but some believe that baptism is only rightly performed on adults. Views of baptism vary, but common views of the rituals include: it grants or symbolizes salvation, commemorates Christ’s death and resurrection, fulfills the command of Jesus to baptize, cleanses away sins, confers grace, and publicly expresses one’s faith. Christianity also teaches about the importance of attending Holy Mass. It’s important for Christians to keep their Sabbath according to the commandments. It is observed on the seventh day which usually falls on a Sunday or Saturday and is considered a weekly day of rest from work. The day is spent fasting and praying and attending Holy Mass. At Mass, followers are taught about the teachings in the bible through scripture readings. The celebration of Mass would conclude with the sharing of communion. Communion represents the Passover that Jesus celebrated with his twelve disciples on the eve of His death. It is an integral part of Christian worship. It causes Christians to remember the Lord’s death and resurrection and to look for His glorious return in the future. Holidays, feasts and fasts are a significant part of Christian religious practice. The feast days celebrate joyous and sorrowful historical events such as the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, while the fast days provide a special opportunity to focus on self-reflection, self-discipline and repentance. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and it runs for forty days. During the forty days Christians fast and pray which represents the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying. Lent is followed by Easter which represents the return of Jesus from the wilderness. Easter starts from Palm Sunday. His death and resurrection is observed during Easter. Special Services are kept in the church during this week and ends with Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Islam is a simple and practical religion. It has established, clear, and easily understandable beliefs and laws that any follower or student of the religion can easily understand. Islam affirms belief in a decent, civilized society. Islam also does not demand impossible goodness of its followers, but it recognizes that all human beings make mistakes and sin. No one is exempt. Islam preaches peace, mercy, justice, tolerance, equality, love, truth, forgiveness, patience, morality, sincerity and righteousness. Islam is the religion that preaches the Oneness of God, the Oneness of mankind and the Oneness of the Message. Muslims believe that there is only one supreme God, Allah. In Islam to believe in Allah is not only to believe in Allah’s existence but also to believe in all Allah’s attributions, to worship Allah alone, and to obey all Allah’s commands. Islam teaches about the five pillars: Shahada, Salah, Seyam, Zakat and Hajj. Shahada is the verbal commitment and pledge that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. It is the duty of every Muslim, male and female, after reaching the age of puberty, to perform five Salats or prayers at specific times during the day and night. These five specific times are: – Dawn, Noon, Afternoon, Sunset, and Night. A ritual called Wudu, which is the cleaning several parts of the body with water, is a prerequisite to Salat. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, is from sun up to sun down only and is an obligation on every healthy adult Muslim, male or female. Fasting is total abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking, gum chewing, intimate relations, and taking anything into the body. If a person is ill and needs to take medication, he/she cannot fast. Fasting is also a time to discipline one’s self from bad behaviors, such as; arguing and saying mean things. Those who are ill or unable to fast for health or reasons of age are exempt from fasting. However, they should feel the poor one meal for every day they miss of fasting. Women who are pregnant, menstruating, or nursing, or any who are traveling, are also exempt from fasting. However, when their situation changes, they make up the days of fasting or feed the poor one meal for each day of fasting they missed. Zakat is an annual obligatory charity on every Muslim, male or female, who possesses over the last year money or property that exceeds their minimum needs. The requirement is 2. 5% of one’s excess wealth. The performance of the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia is required once in a lifetime of every Muslim, if financially able, as well as physically able. Hajj begins every year during the month of Dul Hejja. Dul Hejja is the 12th month of the Islamic calendar year. The Hajj is a spiritual journey where a Muslim forgets all worldly things and devotes his/her attention and time to Allah alone. Islam looks at the woman as an equal, mature and capable partner of a man, without whom a family cannot exist and teaches that men and women are all the creation of Allah, existing on a level of equal worth and value. In some societies women are treated according to ancestral customs and tribal tradition, but in Islam they are treated with full respect and honor. Islam preserves women’s honor and dignity, and requires that she must be treated with respect and honor. Her femininity should not be exploited in any way, rather she is to be regarded and treated as human individual whose sexuality does not enter into her relationship with any person other than her husband. In Islam marriage cannot take place unless the female freely agrees to it and a dowry is given to her. Islam puts priorities for the husbands and wives. The responsibility for providing for the family is on the husband, while the responsibility to care for the house and raising the children is on the wife. These are the main priorities, but cooperation between the husband and the wife is required and highly recommended.