Racism and the Criminal Justice System

Racism and the Criminal Justice System What are the implications of Racism and Policing for the human rights of individuals in the criminal justice system? Human rights are basic rights such as freedom, fairness, equality and diversity etc. It belongs to everyone regardless of ethnicity, gender, race or religion. Human rights are protected under the Act of Human Rights 1998 to set out values and essential rights. To make sure the human right act is followed in accurate way in relation, the criminal justice system has been designed. This system contains set of practice and government institutions such as courts, police, prison and probation service, which all work together to uphold social values and human rights. However, cases like Stephen Lawrence and Mark Duggan have caused many concerns, especially regarding the police force. This is mainly because much of policing is controversial and conflictual (Newburn, 2012: 607). Therefore, this essay will highlight particularly natural right core concept, human right history, the Stephen Lawrence case, stop and search, police brutality and implication of racism on the criminal justice system. There are many core concepts that hold different views such as: natural, constructed, transformative and pragmatic. The main world view I will be focusing on is natural human rights which was influenced by John Locke who has identified three different rights which are life, liberty and property. Constructed right is the belief that rights are socially construct by society and it is a social norm to follow them. Transformative rights are concerned with cultural and social rights rather than political issues as it believes in releasing people from constraint and irrational structure that limits individuals self- development. Unlike natural right worldview, pragmatic view point discusses that there is no absolute truth and human rights do not need any philosophical theories instead human rights should be put into practice. Human right act came into force in 1998 and Human Rights have been developed since Magna Carta in 1215 as it allowed people the chance to have a trail before imprisonment. Further development took place through Bill of Rights in 1689 and throughout the years developed into Human right act 1998. The human right act allowed members of the public to enforce their rights and made it possible to breach public and it required public institutes to comply with European conventions of Human Rights (ECHR). Despite having legislation rights to equality which is a crucial concept of Human Rights is violated as black and Asian ethnic minority are not treated the same as white ethnic groups. This impacts on the government bodies of criminal justice system as equality is not promoted between police and different ethnic groups causing conflict. There have been many conflict and debates regarding contemporary policing and especially British ethnic minorities have experienced difficulties with the police or many individuals have felt that police are biased. There was an increase in controversies regarding racism after the Scarman Report in 1980 and Macpherson Report in 1999 was published. These reports outlined problems for the police and how different ethnic minority communities were treated as public members felt that their human rights were being obstructed by the police. An inquiry was announced by the home secretary- Jack straw and it was led by Sir William Macpherson. MacPherson report highlighted the figures to show that institutional racism exists and human rights are violated in Police organisation. The Lawrence case mainly highlighted that Institutional racism is about stereotyping; it is about being unwitting; it is about ignorance (Green, 2003). In the case police lacked in co-ordination and understanding once they arrived at the crime scene. A prior assumption was made by the police that it was a fight. Therefore, rather than following correct procedures to save life of Stephen, they decided to question his best friend Duwayne Brooks who was with Stephen at the time of the incident. According to Brooks Their prejudices arent just against black people, but all kinds of people. With the police its not just about race, but about class, too. (Taylor, 2014) This infers that ethnic minority communities such as black communities are over policed an d not compared to white community. As stated in the natural right theory, you have to be a human in order to lose your rights. Due to the over policed environment created by the police, Stephen Lawrence lost one of his main human rights in article 2 which states everyones right to life shall be protected by law (Participation, 1998). The police officers at the scene wrongly thought that the best thing was to leave him and allow the paramedics to take over (Macpherson, 1999:77). As a result, police did not conduct first aid as soon as arriving at the scene was one of the reason why Stephen lost his Human Rights. Right to life is the most crucial rights and, once it is breached you cannot reverse the result or resolve the violation. Article 2 of Human Right 1998 is not the only article that has been violated in the Stephen Lawrence case. According to article 14 of human right act 1998 rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion. (Participation, 1998). The tension and violation of the human right article 14 had impact on the government, court and police influencing the Criminal Justice act of 2003 allowing one person to be prosecuted or trailed for the same offence twice. This was a major breakout for the case as scientific evidence was used to prove Dobson guilty for the murder. The implication of the act effected the police and the court . The legislation was created to make sure criminal trails ran effectively. The act attempts to reopen a case merely because there is a feeling, either amongst the police, or prosecutors (BBC,2006). This eventually scraped the double jeopardy rule and judges were obliged to give 30 years sentence in cases including murder or any dangerous offences hence, justice could be served as seen in case of Stephen Lawrences murder. Macpherson report has some aspect of positivism worldview as racism being one of the factors that took Stephens life which is the most basic and natural right of a human according to two treaties of the government identifies by Locke (1689). The Macpherson report written by Sir William Macpherson is considered to be one of the most reliable sources in the Stephen Lawrence case after the Scarman report on Brixton riots. The Macpherson report presents the fact that racism exists within all organisations and institutions (Macpherson, 1999: 22) hence, it violated Human Rights and impacted on the criminal justice system which led to recommendations being made. It uses mixed methods from qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods include interviews with police officers and SIO and quantitative methods include statistics such as racist incidents rose 6% in 1997/98 to 13,880 (Macpherson, 1999: 361), showing biased opinion blaming the police and the entire organisation for not conducting duties properly and using racism as one of factors affecting their job. The weakness of this source is that it was written in 1999 which means that large amount of changes have been made since then such as 40 police forces are now using the latest version of the Holmes criminal investigations and incident management system (Bicknell, 2014) to store and retain information. However, I would consider Macpherson report as reliable source as it was the first time in history where faults of the police were identified and presented to the public also, the government gave full authorisation. On the other hand, many were in support of the police officers and detectives in the case of Stephan Lawrence such as, Janet foster (2008) who published an online journal article in 2008 on police and society- an international journal of research and policy. The online article described the murder of Stephan Lawrence from the perspective of the detectives who were blamed for making assumptions and not treating the case seriously. The article suggests that the Stephen Lawrence case was treated as the organised politics of race, not the organised politics of murder (Foster,2008: 4). The public portrayed the police negatively after the MacPherson report. For instance, the article suggests that the Lawrence family hired a solicitor and it contributed to the breakdown in communications between the police and the family (Foster, 2008, p5). Therefore, the family felt that police were not listening to their requests. The article suggests that police were not able to communicate properly beca use solicitors and others were involved in the process unnecessarily. Nevertheless, this source written by Janet Foster can be considered as a reliable source as many personal interviews were conducted with detectives and police officers personally and qualitative data was collected through the interviews whereas, in the Macpherson report testimonies were presented that blamed the police officers. However, the weakness of this source is that it can be considered biased for the police service as it does not mention some of the mistakes made by the police such as the police not making arrests in the golden hour period when enough evidence could have been collected however, delay in making the arrests has led to the problems (Macpherson, 1999, p:123). Macpherson report agrees with the idea that not only black and Asian minority are more likely to be searched but also more likely to be arrested then white people. Instead of viewing black or ethnic minority groups as victim they are turned into perpetrators (Macpherson,1999, p:361). In 2011/12 1,235,028 arrests were made and individuals were categorised as 102,424 black; 37,628 mixed race; 72,443 Asian; and 17,444 Chinese or other (Soady, 2013). Figures show that black people are up to 17.5 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by the police (Andrews, 2015). This is a breach of the human right as many police forces misuse the powers to complete their duties. Police forces in London and Manchester have received many complaints as the public are not pleased with the police dealing with situations in the black community. According to the section 1 of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 police officers are able to search a person or a vehicle for theft, weapons and etc, the search has to be conducted on reasonable grounds. However, it has been found that 27%, either no grounds had been recorded or the officer had entered a reason which would not justify a search, such as speeding (BBC, 2013). This had a critical impact on the criminal justice system because, in 2014 the home secretary appointed HMIC to examine if police use stop and search powers effectively including strip searches and if the searches are necessary and lawful. The report found that 15% of stops may have been carried out without reasonable suspicion of criminality (Dodd, 2016). As the result of police forces following correct stop and search procedures were so disappointing, it eventually led HMIC to make ten recommendations. One of the recommendations required police officers to note down individuals race and ethical background as it was found that there are no records of the stop and searches conducted by the police. Therefore, HMIC recommended to introduce a nationally agreed form for the recording of stop and search encounters (HMIC, 2015). If the police use the forms to record information, then HMIC will be able to gain sufficient evidence on if black young men are much more likely to be stopped and searched than white men (Halliday, 2015). Stop and search has had a major effect on the police service and many inspectors are speaking in the media regarding this topic. The Guardian newspaper has published many articles regarding police institution being racist. The newspaper supports left wing and the left wing of politics is known to work with social justice system. The source does not show any biased opinions because, according to newspaper police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe has stated that after stop and search cases and Stephan Lawrence inquiry his force had to take such accusations on the chin (Halliday, 2015). This infers that police have been portrayed very badly after serious cases occurring in the past. However, it also suggest that there is truth in regards to institutional racism and weve got to accept that( Halliday,2015). Even though many statistics are not presented but, I will consider this source as credible as qualitative methods have been used such as interviews with commissioner and president of NBP A- Janet Hill and their opinions have shown that there is lack of faith between the institute and the public. Stephen Lawrence was not the only case where public lack faith in the police as police have been blamed for institutional racism many times. After the Stephen Lawrence case, Metropolitan police are trying to reform the force and restore public trust in officers. (Halliday, 2015). However, London riots occurred in 2011 . Mark Duggan was a 29 year old black British man shot by the police in Tottenham. The police stated that officers were suspicious of Duggan having possession of a gun after he came out of a taxi however, according to evidence and witnesses Duggan was only holding a phone. Nevertheless, the killing had been lawful (Wollaston, 2016) causing a devastation for the family and the public. The shooting sparked a wave of violence across the UK (Morgan, 2014). The shooting was defined as lawful but, Duggan still lost two of his main human right, article 2 right to life and article 3 which states that No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (Participation, 1998). When Duggan walked out of the minicab he was threatened by the police to put it down (Casciani, 2014). Even when Duggan had his hands up in the air as witnessed by the minicab driver he was still shot in the chest. In relation to the Human Rights Duggan suffered physically as he was shot with lethal force and mentally as he was threatened in public which is considered as inhumane under the Article 3 of human rights. Due to the violation, public were outraged and caused the worst riots in the history of Britain. To black members of the public the death of Mark Duggan symbolised the most extreme end of a spectrum of targeted, unjust and brutal treatment (Rusbridger, 2011). Therefore, it had large impact on the police as more officers w ere deployed to be on the street to stop any crimes. In conclusion, I support the natural right theory which believes that humans should be given their most basic rights such as right to life, freedom and property. The whole concept of natural rights is that laws are not constructed by the government instead it derives from nature. However, society has evolved and legislations have to be written to be considered as rights. Factors such as race should not affect the rights that every human deserves. In cases like Stephen Lawrence and Mark Duggan who were young black men were discriminated and had their natural rights such as right to life and freedom taken away from them. Reference list Andrews, K. (2015) Stop and search is a disgrace across the UK not just in our cities. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/07/stop-and-search-uk-rural-black-people-police (Accessed: 3 January 2017). BBC (2006) The law of double jeopardy. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5333230.stm (Accessed: 22 January 2017). BBC (2013) Police use of stop-and-search powers criticised by HMIC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23228019 (Accessed: 14 January 2017). Bicknell, D. (2014) Future of police HOLMES system driven by cabinet office buying influence government computing network. Available at: http://police.governmentcomputing.com/news/future-of-police-holmes-system-driven-by-cabinet-office-buying-influence-4432104 (Accessed: 23 January 2017). Casciani, D. (2014) Mark Duggan did not need to die witness. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25657206 (Accessed: 21 January 2017). Dodd, V. (2016) UK police forces still abusing stop and search powers. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/feb/11/uk-police-forces-still-abusing-stop-and-search-powers (Accessed: 22 January 2017). Foster, J. (2008) It might have been incompetent, but it wasnt racist: Murder detectives perceptions of the Lawrence Inquiry and its impact on homicide investigation in London, Policing and Society, 18(2), pp. 89-112. doi: 10.1080/10439460802008579. Green, D. (2003) Institutional racism and the police: Fact or fiction? Available at: http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs06.pdf (Accessed: 5 January 2017). Halliday, J. (2015) Met chief admits institutional racism claims have some justification. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/05/met-chief-admits-institutional-racism-claims-have-some-justification (Accessed: 18 January 2017). HM Government (1999) THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE INQUIRY REPORT OF AN INQUIRY BY SIR WILLIAM MACPHERSON OF CLUNY ADVISED BY TOM COOK, THE RIGHT REVEREND DR JOHN SENTAMU, DR RICHARD STONE cm 4262-I. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277111/4262.pdf (Accessed: 19 January 2017). HMIC (2015) Stop and search powers 2: Are the police using them effectively and fairly? Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/stop-and-search-powers-2.pdf (Accessed: 22 January 2017). Human rights act1998, c. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1 (Accessed: 10 January 2017). Morgan, G. (2014) Mark Duggan: A single death that sparked the riots. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10559449/Mark-Duggan-a-single-death-that-sparked-the-riots.html (Accessed: 21 January 2017). Newburn, T. ed, 2012. Handbook of Policing. Routledge. Soady, A. (2013) Black people more likely to be arrested. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-n 24942641 (Accessed: 19 January 2017). Taylor, D. (2014) Duwayne Brooks: Met still prejudiced but not only against black people. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/08/duwayne-brooks-met-police-prejudiced-stephen-lawrence (Accessed: 6 January 2017). Rusbridger, A. (2011) Reading the riots. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/46297/1/Reading%20the%20riots(published).pdf (Accessed: 24 January 2017). Wollaston, S. (2016) Lawful killing: Mark Duggan review tries and fails to make sense of a bleak, murky case. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/lawful-killing-mark-duggan-review-bleak-murky-case-docudrama-community-police-broadwater-farm-riot (Accessed: 19 January 2017).

Evolution From A Molecular Perspective Essay -- essays research papers

Evolution From A Molecular Perspective Introduction: Why globular evolution? Evolution has been a heavily debated issue since Charles Darwin first documented the theory in 1859. However, until just recently, adaptation at a molecular level has been overlooked except by the scientific world. Now with the help of modern technology, the protein sequences of nearly every known living thing have either been established or are in the process of establishment, and are widely accessible via the internet. With the knowledge of these sequences, one can actually look at several organisms genetic codes and point out the similarities. Entire genomes of creatures have been sequenced, and the human genome project is well underway and ahead of schedule. With this new knowledge comes worries, for humans, however. What if the information stored in our genes was available to the public? Would insurance companies and employers base their selections on these traits? Also, with the total knowledge of every sequence of every amino acid chain in a person's genome, couldn't a laboratory perceivably reconstruct an exact copy of, or clone, that person? These are all issues that will have to be dealt with in the near future, but for now we need only concern ourselves with the objective observation of these proteins in our attempt to explain our ever mysterious origin. As humans, we are the first creatures to question exactly where we came from and how we got here. Some cling to religious creationism as a means, while others embrace the evolutionary theory. As of now, and possibly forever, neither can be proven to be absolute truth with hard facts, and both have their opposing arguments. The point of this paper being composed is not to attempt to abolish the creationist view, a feat that at this point seems impossible, but merely to educate those seeking to unravel the mystery of our forthcoming by pointing out facts that exist in the modern world and that can be quite easily and independently researched. It is conceivable that the two ideas, creationism and evolutionism, can exist symbiotica lly due to the fact that both views have very good points. Hemoglobin: Comparisons between species Of all the proteins in living things, hemoglobin is "the second most interesting substance in the world," as American bioche... ...FHDHPETLDRFDKFKGLK--TEPDMKGSEDLKKHGQTVLTALGAQ--LKKKG 6. ---- TEWEHVNKVWAVVEPDIPAVG--LAILLRLFKEHKETKDLFPKFKEI---PVQQLGNNEDLRKHGVTVLRALGNI-- LKQKG 1. Human Man 2. Cow 3. Sperm Whale 4. Platypus 5. Chicken 6. Shark Table 1.3 Sequence comparisons of globin (information gathered from Hemoglobin and from "Genbank") 1 25 50 75 80 MYOGLOBIN (part two) 1. HHEAEIKPLAQSHATKHKIP--VKYLEFISECIIQVLQSKHPGDFGA--DAQGAMNKALELFRKDMASNYKELG-- FQG 2. HHEAEVKHLAESHANKHKVP--IKYLEFISDAIIHVLHAKHPSNFAA-- DAQGAMNKALELFRKDMASNYKELG--FQG 3. HHEAELKPLAQSHATKHKIP-- IKYLEFISEAIIKVLHSRHPGDFGA--DAQGAMNKALELFRKDIAAKYKELG--YQG 4. QHEAELKPLAQSHATKHKIS--IKFLEYISEAIIHVLQSKHSADFGA--DAQAAMGKALELFRNDMAAKYKEFG--FQG 5. HHEADLKPLAQTHATKHKIP--VKYLEFISEVIIKVIAEKHAADFGA--DSQAAMKKALELFRDDMASKYKEFG-- FQG 6. KHSTNVKELADTHINKHKIP--PKNFVLITNIAVKVLTEMYPSDMIG-- PMQESFSKVFTVICSDLETLYKEAD--FQG 1. Human Man 2. Cow 3. Sperm Whale 4. Platypus 5. Chicken 6. Shark

Bilingual Education Essay

A deeper sense of xenophobia has descended on America recently. The sleepy rural town of Pahrump, NV, reflected this animosity when it passed an ordinance that made English the official language and made it illegal to display foreign flags without an accompanying American flag (Curtis, 2006). In an act of civil disobedience, two Pahrump residents placed a Polish flag and an Italian flag (in reference to their own ancestry) on their front porch (Curtis, 2006). Vandals drenched the Italian flag with eggs overnight (the Italian flag looks similar to the Mexican flag). A majority of the voting citizens of Pahrump would eventually overturn the polarizing ordinance. This incident reflects a salient truth: many monolingual Americans feel uncomfortable with the influx of Spanish-speaking peoples because of the perceived lack of assimilation by Hispanics. This xenophobic atmosphere has trickled onto the realm of education: a movement for the elimination of bilingual education in public schools has gained more attention recently. Proponents argue that using native languages in the classroom impedes national unity (Brisk, 1998). Others feel that bilingual education impedes learning. This research paper examines a possible cause of the anti-bilingual movement. It also examines some arguments and counter arguments of bilingual education. Although by definition bilingual education may include English and any foreign language, this paper focuses on the Spanish-speaking population because of the perception many have about the Hispanic community: that it resists conforming to American culture. Such sentiments have contributed to the anti-bilingual education movement that has descended in many parts of America. This is unfortunate because bilingual education programs actually promote assimilation into mainstream American society. Bilingual Education 3 The bilingual education debate, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, has garnished more dialogue lately because of another hot button issue; immigration. Newscasts often flash images of â€Å"illegal aliens† crossing our borders. Many talk shows often feature lively debates concerning effects of the undocumented workforce. The immigration debate finally sparked a massive protest in 20006 with the â€Å"Day Without an Immigrant† boycott that would affect American schools and businesses (Lendon, 2006). The topic of bilingual education has inevitably entered the debate. Editorial writers often slip in their stances on bilingual education when discussing immigration issues. Pugnacious talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh often host acidic debates on bilingualism in the United States. This issue will certainly not evaporate any time soon. What many opponents of bilingual education fail to mention is that there is an elephant in the room: xenophobia. Many monolingual citizens fear that American culture as they know it is morphing into something foreign. Considering America’s rich, colorful immigrant history, this fear baffles the mind. Why would the descendants of Poles, Germans, Czechs, Italians, and other European immigrants express such concerns? Critics of America’s evolving culture should focus on the similarities between the immigrants of their ancestors and the plight of today’s average immigrant. Many of America’s ancestors landed on our shores at the turn of the 20th century (Calderon, Slavin, 2001). Their European ancestors, like today’s immigrants, had the same dreams that many of today’s immigrants have: to escape the abyss of poverty or war. Although many immigrants faced linguistic and cultural obstacles, many witnessed their children succeed in school and acquire economic security. According to Calderon and Slaven Bilingual Education 4 (2001), â€Å"School is the ladder by which children of immigrants climb out of poverty and into mainstream society† (p. 8). The goal of the immigrants of yesteryear was clearly to assimilate by means of a quality education. If education is a major ingredient for assimilation of immigrants into mainstream society, then society should embrace bilingual education. A starting point is literacy, since reading cuts across all academic subjects. An effective strategy involves using a child’s native language in literacy instruction. We generally acquire reading skills by reading (Smith, 1994). By providing a child with reading material in his/her primary language, we provide the student with a healthier, stronger academic base from which to build on. Once a child acquires these basic skills such as identifying phonic blends in his/her mother tongue, the student digests the given topic easier. Equipped with reading and content knowledge skills, the transition into literacy in a second language then becomes smoother for the English language learner. Truly, a child’s native language is the best initial medium of instruction (Brisk,1998). I did not realize how important using a child’s native language was until I experienced an obstacle with a native Spanish speaker several years ago. Using only English, I was trying to teach a student fresh from Mexico the concept of active and linking verbs. I soon realized that she had never learned these basics about her own native language, let alone grammar of the English language. I soon resorted to teaching her grammar in Spanish. After she mastered the subject, I transitioned what she learned into the initial English lesson that I had tried teaching her earlier. This experience lends credence to the point that scholars make: children still have a lot to learn about their Bilingual Education 5 native tongue upon entering American schools (Brisk, 1998). Despite the fact that research supports using native languages as a tool for literacy, many continue their resistance to bilingual education; they argue for an all-English atmosphere in schools. An indirect but serious consequence of this approach is the psychological effect it may have on many Latinos. Many agree that language is a key component of every culture (Blanc, 2000). By discouraging Spanish from the classroom, the limited English proficient (LEP) student may feel that his or her native language or culture has less value than the mainstream culture. This may produce a sense of inferiority in the mind of many Hispanics and may cause strife among different ethnicities. Ironically, this moves many Latinos away from the assimilation ideal, which opponents of bilingual education do not want. In addition to affecting the morale of the LEP community, eliminating bilingual education programs may increase the already sky-high Hispanic high school drop-out rate. Lack of academic success is one reason Hispanic youths quit school (Lockwood, 1996). By removing their limited access to research-based programs such as bilingual education, they may suffer even less academic success. Eventually, this may produce a Hispanic community full of low-skilled, poorly educated people. In other words, it may produce a subclass. Again, this moves Hispanics away from the assimilation goal cherished by many Americans. Regardless of the benefits of bilingual education, anti-bilingual sentiments continue percolating. Some resort to using other Latinos as a means for obtaining their anti-bilingual agenda. Some cite Richard Rodriguez’s In Hunger of Memory: the Bilingual Education 6 Education of Richard Rodriguez as a case against bilingual education (Krashen, 2007). Rodriguez, a Mexican immigrant, enjoyed great academic success and assimilated into American society despite the lack of bilingual education. Some average Hispanics parallel Rodriquez’s anti-bilingual education stances. Forty-three-year-old waitress Ana Julia Duncan, daughter of Mexican nationals, received minimal bilingual services in the third grade (personal communication). Despite this fact, academically she performed moderately well (personal communication). Because of her success in school, Duncan feels that bilingualism has little value: â€Å"I didn’t speak English when I started school. I did OK. Why can’t anybody else do OK? † Unfortunately, her way of thinking strikes a familiar chord with other Latinos in her same situation. The Rodriquez and Duncan stories seem to act as support for the elimination of bilingual education. However, neither person represent the average, modern English language learner. In Rodriquez’s case, he grew up in a predominately white neighborhood (Kreshen, 2007). As a result, he was exposed to the English language a lot more than the average Spanish speaker. Since a child’s socio-cultural environment plays a major role in his or her intellectual development (Gregory, 2004), Rodriguez’s success should not surprise many. His peers, in essence, acted as quasi-tutors. Duncan’s situation parallels Rodriguez’s upbringing: she too grew up in a mainly white neighborhood (personal communication). Therefore she too received informal training or input from her peers. A majority of Hispanic LEP students, by contrast, live in predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhoods and lack the advantages Rodriguez and Duncan had as children (Kreshen, 2007). Bilingual Education 7 Despite the flaws in using Rodriguez and Duncan as microcosms in the bilingual education debate, some nevertheless insist in a total immersion approach in our schools. Although total immersion has no credible supporting evidence (Crawford, 2007), from a personal point of view, it does have a tinge of value. I had virtually no English-speaking skills as a very young child. My parents were Mexican nationals; my father worked at the post office while my mother stayed at home with the children. Thus, I had virtually no exposure to English. Upon entering my predominantly white kindergarten class in 1970, I realized that I was basically on my own since there were no other Latino children in that particular class. However, this sink or swim situation had a benefit. Within a year, I spoke conversational English. By the first grade, I became fairly fluent in English and would earn average grades. In my opinion, total immersion did play a role in my acquiring salient English skills. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the second grade, I felt as if I lost a part of my identity: I lost a good deal of my native language. I forgot some major Spanish vocabulary words, I started having trouble pronouncing many polysyllabic words, and I had developed a slight gringo accent. Mexican children noticed this and would often make fun of my awkward Spanish. To make things worse, my English skills still needed improvement. The presence of bilingual education may have prevented some of my linguistic obstacles by helping me maintain a healthy language base in both English and Spanish. Luckily, some of my teachers noticed my problem and placed me in a bilingual program along with three other students. One was in the same situation as myself; the Bilingual Education 8 other two were predominately proficient in Spanish who lacked major English skills. The bilingual teacher helped us maintain our strengths and helped correct our weaknesses by using our native language as a medium for instruction. By the end of the school year, I felt more confident. This research paper starts out with an anecdote that depicts a rural Nevada town struggling with xenophobia; it had voted in an English-only ordinance. Then, a connection between xenophobia in America and the anti-bilingual education movement is unveiled. Despite the fact that some school districts have pupils from as many as 130 different countries (Crawford, 2004), this paper focuses on the Spanish speaking English language learner because of a major criticism the Hispanic community endures; that it resists assimilation into the mainstream American culture. A â€Å"solution† for the this problem is the elimination of bilingual education programs in public schools. Proponents claim this would strengthen national unity. However, as this research paper demonstrates, purging such programs would actually gear the Hispanic English language learner away from assimilation, not towards it. If many opponents of bilingualism have their way, American schools will eventually have a monolithic, cookie-cutter approach to teaching its student population. In the United States, a country made from a rich tapestry of immigrants, this scenario would be very un-American. Bilingual Education 9 References Blanc, M. H. A. , & Hamers, J. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. England : Cambridge University Press. Summary: This book is a very elevated, academic piece of work. It provides the reader with a guideline to language behavior, tools to measure levels of bilingualism, and addresses bilingual development. Other areas the book concentrates on include the cognitive development of the bilingual mind, and the cognitive consequences of the bilingual behavior. Brisk, M. E. (1998) Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Education. Mahway, New Jersey: Cambridge University Press. Summary: This book examines the traditional debates about bilingual education. It also examines influences, both internal and external, on the bilingual student’s education. The author presents strategies for implementing quality bilingual services. Calderon, M. , & Slavin, R. (2001). Effective Programs for Latino Students. Mahway, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Summary: This book highlights programs that have worked well for the Hispanic population. It also addresses the unacceptable high drop-out rate of Latino high school students. The book goes a step further by unveiling the needs of higher-education for Hispanics, an area that has received relatively little attention. The authors also explain why many Latinos are at risk in America. Curtis, Lynette. (2006, Nov. 15). Pahrump Targets Illegal Immigrants. The Las Vegas Review Journal. Curtis, Lynette. (2006, Nov. 23). Backlash: Pahrump flag ban won’t fly. The Las Vegas Review Journal. Lockwood, A. T. Caring, Community, and Personalization: Strategies to Combat the Hispanic Dropout Problem. (1996). â€Å"Advances in Hispanic Education, 1. † Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Education. Summary: This book focuses on the dangerously real issue of the Latino dropout issue. T Gregory, E. , Long, S. , & Volk. (2004). Many Pathways to Literacy: Young Children Learning with Siblings, Grandparents, Peers, and Communities. New York: Routledge Falmer. Summary: This book looks at literacy, including bilingual literacy, using a sociocultural approach. It taps into the family structure in various ethnic groups. The book addresses bilingual education in the home and highlights the benefits of this strategy. The authors unveil the importance of using cultural norms as a means to teach literacy (such as story-telling). Another aspect of this piece is its assessment of children’s everyday life experience and how that impacts learning. On a personal note, this book didn’t really catch my eye at first because it didn’t focus on Hispanics specifically. I am happy that I finally opened it up because I was able to see some parallels between the Hispanic experiences and other ethnic groups. Krashen, Stephen. ( 1997). Why Bilingual Education? Eric Digest. Retrieved April 4, 2006 from http://www. ericdigests. org/1997-3/bilingual. html. Lendon, Brad. (2006, May 1). US prepares for ‘A Day Without an Immigrant. ’ Retrieved on April 4, 2007, from http://www. cnn. com/2006/US/04/28/boycott/ Smith, F. (1994). Understanding reading: A psycholinguistic analysis of reading and learning to read (5th ed. ). Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum. .

Ge Matrix - 1190 Words

The GE matrix is an alternative technique used in brand marketing and product management to help a company decide what product(s) to add to its product portfolio, and which market opportunities are worthy of continued investment. Also known as the Directional Policy Matrix, the GE multi-factor model was first developed by General Electric in the 1970s. Conceptually, the GE Matrix is similar to the Boston Box as it is plotted on a two-dimensional grid. In most versions of the matrix: * the Y-Axis comprises industry attractiveness measures, such as Market Profitability, Fit with Core Skills etc. and * the X-Axis comprises business strength measures, such as Price, Service Levels etc. Each product, brand, service, or potential†¦show more content†¦* Two - Answer the question, What makes this market so attractive? * Three - Decide on the factors that position the business on the GE matrix. * Four - Determine the best ways to measure attractiveness and business position. * Five - Finally rank each SBU as either low, medium or high for business strength, and low, medium and high in relation to market attractiveness. Now follow the usual words of caution that go with all boxes, models and matrices. Yes the GE matrix is superior to the Boston Matrix since it uses several dimensions, as opposed to BCG s two. However, problems or limitations include: * There is no research to prove that there is a relationship between market attractiveness and business position. * The interrelationships between SBU s, products, brands, experiences or solutions is not taken into account. * This approach does require extensive data gathering. * Scoring is personal and subjective. * There is no hard and fast rule on how to weight elements. * The GE matrix offers a broad strategy and does not indicate how best to implement it. http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/ge-mckinsey/ | | | home | | site map | | login | | Client Login | User Name | | | Password | | | | | |Show MoreRelatedGe Matrix4246 Words   |  17 PagesGg General Electric screen matrix (the General Electric (GE) business screen) The GE screen matrix is essentially a derivation of the Boston Consulting Group’s Boston growth matrix. It was developed by McKinsey and Co. for General Electric as it had been recognized that the Boston Consulting Group matrix was not flexible enough to take broader issues into account. The GE matrix cross-references market attractiveness and business position using three criteria for each – high, medium and low. TheRead MorePortfolio Analysis5153 Words   |  21 Pages Examining the nature of the product life cycle concept acts as a good introduction to product portfolio models. Several product portfolio models, perhaps the best known of which are the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix, the GE/McKinsey matrix, and the Directional Policy matrix have been adopted by marketers to aid them assess the health of a firm’s product 22 PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS mix. This chapter examines the use and limitations of such models. Portfolio models are useful diagnosticRead MoreEvaluating A Pharmaceutical Portfolio Using ( Bcg, Eg, And Others )780 Words   |  4 Pagescompany should invest. 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The company has a matrix organizational structure, which is characterized by the organization of the company according to multiple metrics. In the case of GE, the structure is matrix in that it combines a functional structure and a divisional structure (Rothaermel, 2015), as illustrated by the GE organizationalRead MoreManaging Global Business : The General Electric / Mckinsey Matrix1683 Words   |  7 PagesGhemawat (2011) â€Å"reckons† that a large majority of the top executives at GE are Americans which may simply be a side effect of the corporation having been founded in the U.S. and headquartered in the U.S. GE takes different modes of entry in to foreign markets, depending on the market and the competitive environment. Their approach is tailored based on the market and they have taken the right approach more times than not. GE is so adept at analyzing new markets their strategy for such analysis hasRead MoreGeneral Electric Strategic Position - 19811536 Words   |  7 PagesGeneral Electric (â€Å"GE†), similar to many major corporations in the 1980s and 1990s, underwent a restructuring phase in line with the McKinsey Restructuring Pentagon. Through this restructuring, General Electric implemented a portfolio-planning model to manage the ever-increasing demands of a company involved in over 190 businesses. Ultimately, this model allowed GE to formally GE set lofty goals of increasing earnings per share 25% faster than the growth of GNP. In order to achieve this theRead MoreAwl (Ge/Mckinsey Approach)1068 Words   |  5 PagesAWL (GE/McKinsey approach) | 1. Describe the business portfolio and the options available to AWL. The business portfolio of AWL’s 1998 fiscal year consists of three SBUs, namely three new marketing textbooks, including Advertising and Sales Promotion Strategy, Analysis for Strategic Marketing and Marketing Engineering. We can also see these three textbooks in the GE Portfolio Matrix as shown in Graph 1 and Graph 2. AWL should have clear understanding of these three new textbooks in order