The Legacy of Perceptions of Interracial Relationships as...

The Legacy of Perceptions of Interracial Relationships as Demonstrated in Late 19th and Early 20th Century Black Literature and Events The history of interracial relationships in America is a painfully loaded issue which is still evolving in the consciousness of the 20th century. Because the first instances of sexual integration occurred under the institution of slavery, our understanding of them is necessarily beset with dominance, violence, and rape. Interracial relationships and the children they produced became another manifestation of power relationships between whites and blacks in our contorted social atmosphere. Even to the present day, interracial relationships are often looked upon as being propelled by impure motives and†¦show more content†¦Dr. Gresham wants her to marry him but he wants her race to be kept from his family. Iola realizes that by agreeing to his proposal, her life and existence would be a facade, and that by concealing her race, she would be concealing implicit aspects of herself. Iola decides that she is unwilling to reject her race. Thus, she has to repress her feelings toward Dr. Gresham and of a life of happiness, as she puts it, no matter how much joy she would have felt or how much she actually sought his manly love, for there was too much at stake for her. W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk In Chapter XI in The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Passing of the First Born, Dr. DuBois discusses the death and escape of his son. He struggles emotionally when he notices the white characteristics of his child. As he perceives the white blood that is flowing through his black childs vein, DuBois writes: ...(I) felt a vague unrest. Why was his hair tinted gold? An evil omen was golden hair in my life. Why had not the brown of his eyes crushed out and killed the blue? ...And thus in the Land of the Color-line I saw, as it fell across my baby, the shadow of the Veil (p 160, Bedford ed.). Du Boiss reaction to the racial duality of his child and the awful gladness he feels when his son dies is indicative of the way in which race and the metaphorical veil pervade every aspect of life. DuBois sees the veil as a result of doubleShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Imp ortant Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History

The For A Good Risk Management Plan - 826 Words

Alcohol and rock concerts often intersected over the course of time; plenty of concerts and festivals have either used alcohol as a sponsor or ancillary revenue. Alcohol and other types of concessions sold at festivals are considered ancillary revenue because it is derived from goods or services other than the primary service or good being offered (What is ancillary revenue, 2015, para.1). Therefore, serving alcohol at festivals is another way for the promotors, event managers, and the venue to obtain additional source of revenue. As the event manager for the Freedom festival, a rock roll festival being held at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, NC; it is the intention of the festival to provide the patrons with a safe and fun environment to enjoy their favorite music. The basis for a good risk management plan is providing a risk assessment for the event before determining how to address the possible risks. â€Å"A risk assessment is a process to identify potential hazards and analyze what could happen if a hazard occurs† (Risk Assessment, 2015, para.1). Therefore, the risk assessment will be used to identify the possible problems that can arise from alcohol. The Freedom Festival event planning committee is aware of, and concerned about the risks and issues that are associated with the availability of alcohol throughout the course of the event, so they plan is to create a risk management plan to address these risks. Violence, alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, underageShow MoreRelatedEffective Management Of Project Risk Management1435 Words   |  6 PagesGood Risk Management – Good governance This article describes the effective management of project risks in an educational institution. 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When you know the problemRead MoreProject Task and Risk Plan1031 Words   |  4 PagesTask and Risk Plan Plan Move With Warehouse Manager New Facility Old Facility New Facility Install RFID Equipment Palletize goods Assemble racks Plan Layout Count inventory Place equipment according to layout Ensure Licensure Shrink wrap goods Place racking according to layout plan Ensure Code Requirements are met Place goods for moving Place goods on racking Inform vendors Break down racking Place RFID tags Move racking to new facility Count inventory Move goods to newRead Morealtex corp1408 Words   |  6 PagesAltex had to submit to the Army, within 60 days after contract award, a formal project plan for the two-year ATMP effort. Contracts at that time did not require a risk management plan be developed. A meeting was held with the project manager of RD to assess the risks in the ATMP effort. PM:  I m in the process of developing the project plan. Should I also develop a risk management plan as part of the project plan? Sponsor:  Absolutely not! Most new weapons systems requirements are established byRead MoreCase Study #3 - Risk Management on a Satellite Dvt Project1542 Words   |  7 PagesSTUDY 3: Risk Management on a Satellite Development Project ! ! ! CASE STUDY 3: RISK MANAGEMENT ON A SATELLITE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT L.D. PROFESSOR: DR. JUANITA MURRELL ! HRM 517 MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCE PROJECTS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 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This project effect all the departments within the company.So a management team with hired consultants and some members of insurance company was formed.Moreover there was no project manager for this case study.After completion of one year there was no single project built and checked so senior management recognized that anything was not going as they expected so lots of issues were discovered.Management failed to solve many of the problemsRead MoreWhat Happens when You do Not Manage Risk Essay1132 Words   |  5 PagesRisk management has become an integral part of the world of entrepreneurship. Generally, risks are events that have negative effects on a business. Some of the risks can jeopardize businesses, while others can cause serious and costly damages, which may need time to rectify. Not all risks are bad. According to Held man (2011) risks can present future opportunities as well as future threats. All projects involve risk and the ones that succeed generally do so because their leaders do two thingsRead MoreRefurbishment Of Broron Oil And Gas Limited Three Storey Building1675 Words   |  7 Pagesprocurement system in delivering a good standard office apartment for boron oil and gas limited. The scope of this project is to design and construct and appropriate office structures. Which involves different stages of work in these projects? Our task involves †¢ Planning a risk management plan †¢ Creating a risk register and a risk response plan. †¢ Identifying possible risk project and procurement strategy. †¢ Undertaking qualitative and quantitative risk analysis. †¢ Risk tracking and monitor control.

Why get your RN to BSN Free Essays

The Need for Highly-Educated Nurses In the 21st century, the health challenges facing the nation have shifted dramatically. The American population is older†Americans 65 and older will be nearly 20 percent of the population by 2030†as well as more diverse with respect not only to race and ethnicity but also other cultural and socioeconomic factors. In addition to shifts in the nation’s demographics, there also have been shifts in that nation’s health care needs. We will write a custom essay sample on Why get your RN to BSN or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most health care today relates to chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, rthritis, cardiovascular disease, and mental health conditions, due in part to the nation’s aging population and compounded by increasing obesity levels. While chronic conditions account for most of the care needed today, the U. S. health care system was primarily built around treating acute illnesses and injuries, the predominant health challenges of the early 20th century. The ways in which nurses were educated during the 20th century are no longer adequate for dealing with the realities of health care in the 21st century. As patient needs and care environments have become more complex, nurses need to attain equisite competencies to deliver high-quality care. These competencies include leadership, health policy, system improvement, research and evidence-based practice, and teamwork and collaboration, as well as competency in specific content areas such as community and public health and geriatrics. Nurses also are being called upon to fill expanding roles and to master technological tools and information management systems while collaborating and coordinating care across teams of health professionals. To respond to these increasing demands, the 10M committee alls for nurses to achieve higher levels of education and suggests that they be educated in new ways that better prepare them to meet the needs of the population. An Improved Education System Much of nursing education revolves around acute care rather than community settings that include aspects of primary care, public health, and long-term care. The qualifications and level of education required for entry into the nursing profession have been widely debated by nurses and nursing organizations.. Although a BSN education is not a panacea for all that is expected of nurses in the future, it does, elative to other educational pathways, introduce students to a wider range of competencies in such arenas as health policy and health care financing, community and public health, leadership, quality improvement, and systems thinking. Care within the hospital continues to grow more complex, with nurses having to make critical decisions associated with care for sicker, frailer patients and having to use more sophisticated, life-saving technology coupled with information management systems that require skills in analysis and synthesis. Care outside the hospital is ecoming more complex as well. Nurses are being called on to coordinate care among a variety of clinicians and community agencies; to help patients manage chronic illnesses, thereby preventing acute care episodes and disease progression; and to use a variety of technological tools to improve the quality and effectiveness of care. A more educated nursing workforce would be better equipped to meet the demands of an evolving health care system, and this need could be met by increasing the percentage of nurses with a BSN. An increase in the proportion of urses with a BSN also would create a workforce poised to achieve higher levels of education at the master’s and doctoral levels, required for nurses to serve as primary care providers, nurse researchers, and nurse faculty† positions currently in great demand across the profession and within the health care system. The committee recommends that the proportion of nurses with baccalaureate degrees be increased to 80 percent by 2020. While it anticipates that it will take a few years to build the educational capacity needed to achieve this goal, the committee maintains that it is old, achievable, and necessary to move the nursing workforce to an expanded set of competencies, especially in the domains of community and public health, leadership, systems improvement and change, research, and health policy. Improving the education system and achieving a more educated workforce† specifically increasing the number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees†can be accomplished through a number of different programs and educational models, including: traditional RN-to-BSN programs; traditional 4-year BSN programs at both universities and some community colleges. How to cite Why get your RN to BSN, Papers

Why Abortions Should Not Be Tolerated free essay sample

We live in an epoch of complex problems. The ideas of tolerance and human rights protection, based on the idea that every human being is a master of their life, have contributed into letting people live as they want and do what they will – in reasonable measures. In particular, tolerance has seemingly resolved or smoothened a number of moral dilemmas that humanity faced during the past centuries. However, there still exists several extremely important and disputable questions, such as euthanasia, implanted ID chips, biometric identification, and abortion. Abortion is, perhaps, one of the oldest, and one of the most difficult issues to sort out among them; while proponents of abortion call for its acceptance, its opponents believe that it is immoral and inexcusable. And though many human rights protectors claim that every woman can do whatever she sees as expedient, I am strongly convinced that abortions can not be tolerated, as they harm mothers and their innocent children. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Abortions Should Not Be Tolerated or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Any reasonable and sound person would be outraged and anxious if someone offered to grant mothers a right to kill their babies immediately after birth. This would be called inhumane and immoral – it would be a crime. However, this is what proponents of abortions actually do by standing for etching of the embryo before birth. They ignore the fact that the baby is already a human being, from the very first days after conceiving. According to W. L. Saunders, â€Å"Every human being begins as a single-cell zygote, grows through the embryonic stage, then the fetal stage, is born and develops through infancy, through childhood, and through adulthood, until death. Each human being is genetically the same human being at every stage, despite changes in his or her appearance† (Saunders). In other words, abortion is still infanticide, a killing of a living human being, despite the fact that the child is still in the womb. Moreover, abortion does not pass without a trace in terms of women’s health. Though there exist chemical preparations that allow the stopping of pregnancy without surgery, they are as dangerous as physical intervention. According to the recent research, abortions cause a significant risk of ectopic pregnancy, not to mention other diseases, such as breast cancer and infertility. â€Å"Statistics show a 30% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after one abortion and a 160% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after two or more abortions. There has been a threefold increase in ectopic pregnancies in the U. S. since abortion was legalized. In 1970, the incidence was 4. 8 per 1,000 live births. By 1980 it was 14. 5 per 1,000 births† (AF). Another argument is that a woman who has decided to get rid of the embryo is about to kill herself as well. Though an abortion may seem to be an option for underage mothers, or victims of rape, etching the baby does not free a woman, or calm her down. According to statistics, women who had abortions tend to commit suicides much more often than those who chose to give birth to a baby: 28% of women who committed an abortion attempted suicides (AfterAbortion). Among other problems are alcohol and drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual dysfunction, and many other issues. Though abortions are often seen as an option for women who, due to various circumstances, do not want to give birth to a baby, it is perhaps the worst choice. No matter how a child looks like in a womb, no matter how underdeveloped its consciousness and nervous system is, it is still a human being that has a right to live. Besides, abortions cause severe physiological and psychological damage to canceled mothers, such as ectopic pregnancy, terminal diseases, depression and suicidal behavior, alcohol and drug abuse.

Lord Of The Flies - Book Review Essays - English-language Films

Lord of the Flies - Book Review The classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an exciting adventure deep into the nether regions of the mind. The part of the brain that is suppressed by the mundane tasks of modern society. It is a struggle between Ralph and Jack, the boys and the Beast, good and evil. The story takes a look at what would happen if a group of British school boys were to become stranded on an island. At first the boys have good intentions, keep a fire going so that a passing ship can see the smoke and rescue them, however because of the inherent evil of the many the good intentions of the few are quickly passed over for more exciting things. The killing of a pig slowly begins to take over the boys life, and they begin to go about this in a ritualistic way, dancing around the dead animal and chanting. As this thirst for blood begins to spread the group is split into the rational (the fire-watchers) pitted against the irrational (the hunters) (Dick 121). The fear of a mythological beast is perpetuated by the younger members of the groups and they are forced to do something about it. During one of the hunters celebrations around the kill of an animal a fire-watcher stumbles in to try and disband the idea of the monster. Caught of in the rabid frenzy of the dance, this fire-watcher suddenly becomes the monster and is brutally slaughtered by the other members of the group. The climax of the novel is when the hunters are confronted by the fire-watchers. The hunters had stole Piggys (one of the fire-watchers) glasses so that they may have a means of making a cooking fire. One of the more vicious hunters roles a boulder off of a cliff, crushing Piggy, and causing the death of yet another rational being. The story concludes with the hunters hunting Ralph (the head and last of the fire-watchers). After lighting half of the island on fire in an attempt to smoke Ralph from his hiding place, they chase him on to the beach only to find a ships captain and crew waiting there to rescue them, because he saw the smoke. The novel is packed full of symbolism and irony. Golding also communicates his message quite well. The title refers to Beelzebub, most stinking and depraved of all the devils: it is he, and not the God of Christians, who is worshipped (Burgess 121). This is just one of the many examples of symbolism. Another would be that as the story progressed characters names slowly begin to change. A pair of twin boys, Sam and Eric, became know as Samneric, a single unit. Another boy completely forgot his name because he was just lumped into the group know as the littleuns. This is symbolic of the break down of the basic structure of society, identity. If a person does not know who he is then he can never function properly in society. The other tool that Golding uses very well is irony. It is very ironic that the group of boys finally get rescued because they accidentally lit the island on fire hunting down the last of the fire-watchers. From these example it is easy to make a conclusion on the m essage the William Golding was trying to convey when he wrote Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies he [Golding] showed how people go to hell when the usual social controls are lifted, on desert islands real or imaginary (Sheed 121). Despite being heavily involved in the war efforts during the second world war, Golding managed to not become a war novelist, this does however, somewhat explain why most of the conflicts in his books are basic struggles between people. He [Golding] entered the Royal Navy at the age of twenty-nine in December 1940, and after a period of service on mine sweepers, destroyers, and cruisers, he became a lieutenant in command of his own rocketship (Baker xiii). So many of the authors of his time used the war as the back ground or main conflict in their books, but not Golding, he is able

Battered Womans Syndrome

Battered Womans Syndrome Free Online Research Papers This paper looks at the history of men battering their wives. The physical and mental strain placed on the victim is examined, as is the behavior which many women who face these beatings experience. This paper examines reasons why a woman would fight back using deadly force and will show the successful use of the battered woman syndrome as a defense in court. The battered woman syndrome will be viewed as a legitimate cause for self defense and justifiable homicide of the victim’s spouse. Throughout United States history, women have been controlled, beaten and verbally abused by their spouses. This is mainly due to the fact that from the time this country was conceived until the early 19th century, women were viewed by the U.S. legal system as the property of their husbands. The law was written that, by marriage, a man and a woman were recognized as one person in the eyes of the law. The law even went as far as to allow the husband to give his wife â€Å"moderate correction†. This meant that he could strike his wife in order to restrain her as long as he used nothing wider than his thumb. This came to be known as the â€Å"Rule of Thumb†. Since these days of barbaric unions between men and women, the United States government has passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly states that â€Å"†¦ [n]o state shall deny equal protection of the laws to any person.† This statement means that the government cannot take away rights protected by the Constitution based on an individual’s race, religion, or sex. As a result of this Amendment being passed, the United States Supreme Court has f ound many laws to be in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, including the â€Å"Rule of Thumb†. (Muraskin, 2007. pp.5-6) Today, domestic violence laws prevent a man from beating his spouse without any consequences. This is assuming that the wife decides to call the police, which often times she will not because of a fear of embarrassment. Therefore, this leads to many women being beaten continuously to the point where the physical and psychological damaged caused can lead to a violent outburst towards their husband, which then results in his murder. In such cases where a woman is beaten to the point of becoming capable of murdering her abusive spouse, the battered woman syndrome can become a very useful tool for the defense counsel in order to gain an acquittal on the grounds that the woman killed out of self defense, thus making it a justifiable homicide. (CRJ30 class notes) First, it is important to take a look into exactly how battering can occur. The reason men batter their wives has been a mystery to society for the better part of the last half century. Social learning theory suggests reasons as to why there are men who will use force and violence against their spouses. Violent behavior will likely not stop once it has been initiated and rewarded, and some victims tend to have great difficulty in either stopping the violence or ending the relationship with their abusive spouse. (Pagelow, 1981. pp.29.) Social learning theory is defined as â€Å"an extension of differential-association and reinforcement theories, holding that social sources, or people with whom one interacts, are the reinforcers that result in the learning of nondeviant and deviant behavior. The type of behavior that is most frequently and consistently reinforced by the people will be the one most often exhibited.† (Pagelow, 1981. pp.35.) A basic proposition of the social learning theory is that reinforcement which follows behavior can increase the probability that this behavior will be repeated. Another proposition of this theory is that intermittently reinforced behavior is the most difficult to extinguish. The theory points out that the two major parts of the learning process are reinforcement and punishment. The emphasis is focused more on the reinforcement than the punishment. This is due to the fact that punishment has been shown to have relatively short-term effects on extinguishing behavior while immediate reinforcement will outweigh the effects of delayed punishment in controlling behavior. (Pagelow, 1981. pp.36.) However, for one to understand the battered woman syndrome, one must familiarize themselves with the kind of physical and mental strain that a battered woman goes through, as well as the psychological trauma which is placed upon the abused. Many critics of the battered woman syndrome blame the victim rather than the abuser. Critics believe that a woman who is beaten by her spouse can simply just call the police in order to stop the violence. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Abused women are often embarrassed by these encounters with their spouse to the point that they would not want to tell anyone, not even the police. This silence about the abuse leads many women to learn how to live with the violence rather wanting to eradicate it from their lives. Many critics of the battered woman syndrome claim that the women who use this defense are pathological individuals. Critics and prosecution alike see these women as having an individual problem rather than seeing domestic violence as a social issue that could affect anyone. To these people, an abused woman is a rare occurrence and women who are abused are mentally ill. The assumption that an abused woman is â€Å"sick† is based on the belief that she is a masochistic and she, as well as the abuser, receives a certain satisfaction from the violence. (Pagelow, 1981. pp. 54-55.) Harvard Law Professor Alan M. Dershowitz believes that a battered woman does not have to take matters into her own hands but rather â€Å"has the option of either leaving or calling the police†. (Reutter, 2005) This is simply not true. An abused woman, who does nothing to stop the abuse, is often stuck in a state of learned helplessness. This means that she believes that she can not control the abuse and she recognizes herself to be completely helpless to it. Learned helplessness consists of three essential components. The first of these components is called contingency. Contingency deals with the objective relationship between a person’s actions and the outcome which they experience. In this case, the actions of the abuser make the abused feel like she is less than her husband and therefore becomes accustomed to the situation. The second component to learned helplessness is known as cognition. This has to do with the way in which the woman perceives, explains, and extrapolates the contingency. There are several steps involved with the cognition. First, she must apprehend the contingency. A person experiencing learned helplessness may view the contingency either accurately or as the complete opposite of what it really is. In the case of domestic violence, the woman perceives the abuse as being somehow her fault because her spouse makes her feel as if she has done something to deserve the beating, when in actuality she has done nothing wrong and he is the one who is in fact wrong. Next, she explains what she has perceived. If she perceives that the abuse takes place because of her wrongdoing, then she will hold herself responsible as the cause for her beating. Finally, she uses her perception and explanation to form an expectation about the future. For example, if her husband beats her every time she has not finished preparing dinner by 6 o’clock, she will then assume to be beaten every time dinner is still in the over when he arrives home. Because of this false perception, she is left open to future abuse to no fault of her own. (Peterson, Maier, Seligman, 1993. pp.8.) Gelles (1976) explained his theory as to why women stay with their batterer in an article he published. His ideas in this article received wide publicity since that time. In the article, Gelles stated, â€Å"Three major factors influence the actions of abused wives. The less severe and less frequent the violence, the more a wife remains with her husband. Secondly, the more a wife was struck as a child by her parents, the more likely she is to remain with her abusive husband. Lastly, the fewer resources a wife has and the less power she has, the more likely she is to stay with her violent husband. In addition, external constraint influences the actions of abused wives.† (Pagelow, 1981. pp. 145) Of course, for any good battered woman defense to be brought into a murder trial, a battered woman needs to set herself up with the right lawyer to present her case to the judge. As attorney Michael G. Dowd stated about his experience with defending a battered woman, [â€Å"Before a battered woman could fight the battle for the hearts and minds of a jury she needed an advocate to present her story. Like a screenplay that needs a good director and the backing of a producer, a battered womans self defense case needed the vision of a lawyer to structure the case and a judge willing to let it be presented to the jury. An attorney or judge encumbered by prejudices about battered women would be an unlikely candidate to advance a defense that contradicted fundamental opinions about the existing social order. Even the unbiased might deny the reality of societal prejudice to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the violence these beliefs tolerated. Obviously the denial of such prejudice renders us powerless to correct an injustice that we cannot admit exists. Too little attention has been paid to the cases of women that were never presented in court, not because of a biased or ignorant judge but as the product of inaction or ignorance of the atto rney charged with her defense. These injustices surface, if at all, as the woman languishes in jail and becomes aware of what could have been done for her case.â€Å"] (Dowd, 1999.) It could be easy for any judge or lawyer to confuse the battered woman syndrome with being a disease because of the word â€Å"syndrome†. The word â€Å"syndrome† suggests that there is something wrong with the woman. If that were the case, then she would not be the victim. In fact, it is merely a syndrome that results from the battering itself. Once periodic beatings take place, there is a sense of imminent danger, and this is a key fact in any self defense case. Imminent does not refer to a specific period of time, however. This fear of danger is that the woman believes she could be beaten at any moment or anywhere. This belief in imminent danger further helps the self defense case. For example, if a woman is beaten repeatedly for years on end, she may feel the need to defend herself even at times when the abuse is not occurring at that exact moment. If she were to kill her husband in his sleep, a jury or a judge may say that it was unprovoked. However, the battered woman’s syndrome suggests that it is self defense because she is always in a state of fear from imminent danger. There is not a single moment of her life where she feels safe, yet she does not run to the police or tell anyone because she believes there is something wrong with her. (Dowd, 1999.) In the 1985 decision for People v. Torres, the judge wrote, [â€Å". . . It is the defendants state of mind and sense of fear which is critical to a justification defense. In this regard, proof of violent acts previously committed by the victim against the defendant as well as any evidence that the defendant was aware of specific prior violent acts by the victim upon third parties is admissible as bearing upon the reasonableness of the defendants apprehension of danger at the time of the encounter.†] The battered woman’s defense has caught the spotlight ever since it was first introduced in Ibn-Tamas v. United States. Since that time there have been hundreds of successful cases involving this defense. There are certain aspects to these cases, however, that differ significantly from abuse cases that do not result in the death of the batterer. First, cases involving deadly retaliation by the abused often contain alcohol abuse, death threats, threats with weapons, more severe beatings and sexual violence towards the woman or other family members. The actually homicide often takes place after an unusual incident, meaning that something was done by the male that was not in his usual repertoire of violence. He could do things like threaten the lives of their children, which would then lead to the woman saying â€Å"he’s never done that before†. This could prove to be a turning point because now the abuser has gone to other forms of abuse other than what she h as learned to live with. (Easteal, 1992. pp.3) Still with all of these studies done, there are many misconceptions and false beliefs about the battered woman’s syndrome. To combat these myths, a good defense team will enlist the help of an expert witness. Without the help of expert witnesses it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to win a case of self-defense. The expert witnesses are able to paint a picture for the jury of exactly what a battered woman’s mind is like in order to help understand a battered woman’s thought process. It is extremely important for a judge to allow the testimony of an expert witness into these cases. In the instances where a judge has not allowed those testimonies, there have been numerous successful appeals of the original decision. (Easteal, 1992. pp. 5) Dr. Easteal sites one specific case in her article (1992) where the battered women defense was successful in gaining an acquittal for self defense. [â€Å"The Diaz Case 1985 (Blackman 1989, pp. 184-6): This case is particularly interesting since it exemplifies the increasing use of a self-defense plea in situations where, in traditional terms, there is no immediate sense of danger since the batterer is asleep (or passed out) at the time of the killing. Madelyns husband, a police officer, had committed numerous acts of violence, including sexual, upon her during their marriage. These included taking her out in the car in winter, making her undress and inviting a stranger to rape her in the backseat while he watched. The day preceding the killing, he had threatened their six-month-old daughter, holding a revolver at the babys head. He had never done this before. The next morning as he still slept, Madelyn left with the three children to go grocery shopping. Having forgotten money, she returned and opened the drawer where the money was kept. She picked up the gun that lay there and hearing a flashback of his voice as he had held the gun to the baby, she fired it twice at his sleeping body. Then she left, went shopping and bought items that he normally liked. Initially, she told investigators that the apartment had been broken into; three days later, she remembered what she had done and confessed. Madelyn was indicted for murder in the second degree, the highest murder charge in New York State. Ultimately, she was acquitted. The jury extended the definition of self-defense to include the circumstances Madelyn described. The jury, with the help of expert witnesses, was able to see that the threat of violence was psychologically imminent.†] (Easteal, 1992. pp. 6) The Diaz case is a perfect example of the battered woman defense at its full potential. The jury was able to view the imminent danger through the eyes of a battered woman rather than through the eyes of the average reasonable American. Therefore, the case for imminent danger was established. Secondly, this is a fantastic example of expert witnesses basically winning a case for the defense council. In a world where domestic violence often goes unnoticed by outsiders, it is important for society to keep an open mind to those who suffer from the battered woman’s syndrome. When this case is presented as self-defense, it can often be seen as a farce and be met with many myths and misconceptions by judges, juries, and prosecution teams alike. However, with the help of expert witnesses to establish the meaning of imminent danger to a battered woman, juries can more likely be swayed to the side of the defense. There is no doubt that the battering of women is a serious issue that can often time result in a deadly backlash, and unfortunately it is often that the batterer had what was coming to him. Society can only expect a woman to take so much abuse with a closed mouth before she finally snaps, and often times homicide is the only answer. However, the battered woman syndrome can prove to be a very reasonable cause for a justifiable homicide by reason of self-defense. References Dowd, M.G. (1999). The Battered Womans Defense Its History and Future. Retrieved April 9th, 2007, from Find Law. Website: http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Dec/1/130513.html Easteal, Dr. P. (1992). Battered Women Who Kill: A Plea of Self- Defense. Retrieved April 9th, 2007, from JSTOR. Website: aic.gov.au/publications/proceedings/16/Easteal1.pdf Muraskin, R. (2007). It’s a Crime: Women and Justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Pagelow, M.D. (1981). Woman-Battering: Victims and Their Experiences. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Peterson, C., Maier, S.F., Seligman, M.E.P. (1993). Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Ages of Personal Control. New York: Oxford University Press. Reutter, M. (2005). Battered Women Who Kill in Non-Beating Situation Have Self Defense Right. Retrieved April 9th, 2007, from New Bureau. Website: news.uiuc.edu/news/05/0815women.html Research Papers on Battered Woman’s SyndromeUnreasonable Searches and Seizures19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraCapital PunishmentThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPETSTEL analysis of IndiaEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMind TravelQuebec and CanadaWhere Wild and West Meet

Gender Bias Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender Bias - Essay Example To start with, the author of the text is definitely a man. This is easy to tell since the work has been written from the third person perspective. This simply means that he is sharing experiences that are foreign to him. The author uses simple sentences and a limited description of objects, people and events. This is common among men who are unable to express their feeling accurately using words. His reference to the imagery of the â€Å"American wife† clearly shows the author is a man as all other men do in the American society (Hemingway 695). The description of how she went out to look for the cat shows the caring and compassionate nature of women while her husband accompanies her although he is unwilling. This shows that the author is a man since he clearly captures her husband’s reaction. The author explains how the woman is attracted to the hotel keeper who is described as being serious, mature and cold. The author captures the manly features that attract the woman to the hotel keeper. He states that the woman is interested in fine things, romantic dining, long hair and a cat (Hemingway 695). He describes these things as being foreign to him and could have described them better if he were a woman. The author vividly points out her husband’s interests and this could only mean that he is a man as well. This text clearly shows the plight of an African-American woman who works hard by cleaning laundry for the white people. From the beginning of the text, it can be seen that the author is a woman from the way that she describes Delia as being a hard worker and provides for her husband Sykes. On the other hand, her husband is depicted as being lazy and does not treat her well too (Hurston 697). He once played a trick on her by placing the bullwhip in her laundry. He was well aware of the fact that Delia was scare of snakes. This shows that he is